“The Democratic Party and the Constitutional Court’s Battle for Truth”
“The Arrest Warrant from the Corruption Investigation Office is a ‘Fake Warrant'”
On January 7th, Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, spoke during a strategy meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.
[Herald Economy’s Joo Soo-hyun and Kim Hae-sol reporting] The Constitutional Court has countered claims that it ‘coached’ the Democratic Party-led National Assembly’s impeachment motion team to withdraw charges of rebellion. Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized on the 7th that “the Constitutional Court’s silence has only fueled suspicions.” Kwon emphasized, “Withdrawing the rebellion charge severely undermines the identity of the existing grounds for impeachment and certainly requires a separate voting procedure.”
At the strategy meeting that morning, Kwon stated, “Yesterday, the Constitutional Court denied advising the National Assembly to withdraw the rebellion charge in the impeachment proposal, leading to a battle for truth between the Democratic Party and the Constitutional Court.” He added, “The Democratic Party interpreted the Constitutional Court’s fact-checking as its intention to advise the withdrawal of rebellion charges, using it to justify their strategy as if it aligned with the court’s intention.”
This controversy began when the National Assembly’s impeachment motion team withdrew charges such as rebellion, abuse of power, and obstruction of official duties under criminal law, expressing the belief that the court had advised this course. The purpose of the impeachment motion team was to speed up the trial by focusing on President Yoon Suk-yeol’s constitutional violations, and the People Power Party launched an offensive, arguing that the removal of the rebellion charge would require a re-vote on the impeachment itself. In response, the Constitutional Court maintained a stance that these issues were “matters of judicial discretion,” distancing itself from calls for a re-vote.
Kwon also rebutted the position of the Constitutional Court. He argued, “In the impeachment decision document for former President Park Geun-hye, it is clearly stated that the National Assembly cannot add or change impeachment grounds without a separate voting process if the grounds are no longer identical. If the Constitutional Court accepts the Democratic Party’s tactics, it could undermine trust in the fairness of impeachment trials.”
Kwon further raised criticism against the failure of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to execute an arrest warrant for the president within a set deadline. The CIO announced on the previous day that it would delegate the execution of the arrest warrant to the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters (NIH), but reversed this decision due to NIH’s concerns over “legal controversies.”
Kwon strongly criticized by stating, “The warrant obtained by the CIO, which does not have the authority to investigate rebellion charges, is invalid.” He continued, “How is it logical for them to carry out enforcement with such a fake warrant? How is this different from trying to purchase goods with counterfeit money?” He added, “The CIO’s lack of authority regarding warrant enforcement over the police is due to the deletion of specific prosecutorial warrant regulations following the Moon Jae-in administration’s adjustment of investigative authority between the police and prosecution.”
Regarding the Democratic Party considering the impeachment of Choi Sang-mok, acting president and concurrently deputy prime minister for economic affairs, Kwon remarked, “They are initiating another impeachment hostage situation.” He commented, “Having already pursued impeachment 29 times, they seem determined to make it 30, even at the cost of destroying the economy.”
Kwon openly criticized Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, saying, “A person who has walked the path of a criminal now tries to become king by disrupting the communal order.” He countered Lee’s previous statement to President Yoon, which was, “Those attempting to become king while destroying communal order end up on the road of a criminal.” Kwon also stated, “He’s the one who’s been dismantling the judicial system by impeaching the prosecutors investigating him.”