In South Korea, the two main pillars of power are the National Assembly and the prosecution, with President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration often referred to as “republic of prosecutors.” On Tuesday, the Assembly-dominating opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) tabled a motion to impeach four incumbent prosecutors. This move arouses a significant anxiety about the Assembly's misuse of impeachment for political revenge and maneuvering.
Impeachment is a potent tool endowed to the Assembly to deal with grave legal infringements by ranking officials in the administration or judiciary. The DPK's recent motion appears politically motivated with the aim of settling scores rather than addressing genuine misdeeds.
The four prosecutors in question led investigations into corruption scandals and a North Korea remittance case, all allegedly involving Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former chairman of the DPK. They include land development cases in Seongnam's Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong, the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case and the case of cash envelopes distributed during a national convention of the party.
Last year, the DPK also initiated impeachment against three prosecutors on charges of abusing their indictment power. Yet there was insufficient evidence of any illegal activities by the four prosecutors. For instance, prosecutor Uhm Hee-joon was acquitted in the investigation of illegal political funds involving former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook. In addition, accusations against prosecutor Park Sang-yong lacked concrete evidence. Former Gyeonggi Province Deputy Governor Lee Hwa-young, who was accused of masterminding the remittance case, has failed to specify the exact time and place of his meeting with Park.
The DPK referred the impeachment motion to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee for deliberation ahead of tabling it for a vote in a plenary session. This indicates the DPK's bid to raise the issue to highlight it as a hotbed political issue at the committee attended by attorneys-turned-lawmakers who previously worked in defense of the former DPK chairman.
The DPK's move is drawing a fierce backlash from prosecutors and the ruling People Power Party (PPP). Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the PPP, slammed the DPK for trying to undermine the very reasons of the Assembly's existence only for the purpose of defending Rep. Lee. Prosecutor General Lee One-seok on Tuesday described the DPK's move as tantamount to enabling the former party chairman to preside over his own case, despite his status as the defendant, with the DPK taking a judiciary role. More than 200 prosecutors including 20 senior officials left comments in the prosecution's intranet critical of the DPK's moves.
The DPK's bid to press for the impeachment is an attempt to make the most of the case as “political propaganda” by calling in the relevant prosecutors for interrogation at the Assembly committee. Some DPK members have also pointed out the “excessiveness” of the impeachment bill. They say it is like "calling in the prosecutors in charge of the investigations before the public to humiliate them.”
The DPK's current move exemplifies the exploitation of absolute power by a parliamentary majority party. As the top prosecutor put it, it is like a defendant trying to impeach the prosecutors who indicted him in order to intimidate the prosecution and the judiciary. Now Lee and the DPK should answer the following question: Do they deserve to talk about equality before law?
The DPK indicated the possibility of impeaching more prosecutors in the future, vowing to use its power to punish what it calls “corrupt and political” prosecutors. Now the prosecutors, for their part, should humbly reflect on their previous inappropriate practices including political interference to prevent such misdeeds from happening again.
The DPK should remember the impeachment process should be a measure of last resort, reserved for addressing genuine legal and constitutional violations. The DPK's current approach risks undermining the judiciary's role and eroding public trust in democratic institutions. Both the DPK and the prosecution should uphold the principles of justice and equality before the law to maintain the integrity of South Korea's democratic system.