Constitutional Court dismisses impeachment motions against four senior officials

Choe Jae-hae, chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection, speaks to reporters as he leaves the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 13. [NEWS1] The Constitutional Court on Thursday reinstated four senior officials who were impeached over allegations of mishandling investigations into various presidential affairs. The cases, filed in December, have been closely scrutinized as potential indicators of how the court might rule regarding other impeachments, particularly that of President Yoon Suk Yeol. During his trial, Yoon claimed that his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law was partly driven by the National Assembly’s repeated impeachment of these officials and others in his administration, which he argued led to political gridlock. In an 8-0 unanimous decision, the court overturned the Democratic Party (DP)-led impeachment of Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), immediately reinstating him to his position. The DP had accused the BAI of conducting a politically influenced audit into the 2022 relocation of the presidential office and residence, alleging the probe was designed to absolve Yoon and his administration of wrongdoing during the move. Related ArticleAuthorities tighten security around Constitutional Court as Yoon's impeachment ruling loomsConstitutional Court rejects impeachment motion against BAI chief Choe Jae-haePolitical unease builds as Constitutional Court remains mum on Yoon verdict But the court’s majority opinion, read by Justice Kim Hyeong-du, dismissed these allegations. “The BAI conducted an audit to determine whether the process of relocating the Presidential Office and residence complied with relevant legal procedures, and there are no circumstances suggesting it was an inadequate audit,” Kim said. The court also rejected the DP’s claims that Choe had conducted an audit into the former chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in an attempt to force her resignation. In a separate concurring opinion, three justices — Lee Mi-son, Jung Jung-mi and Chung Kye-sun —acknowledged that Choe had violated the agency’s constitutional independence by revising internal rules to grant the prime minister the power to request audits. However, they concluded that this violation was not “severe enough to warrant his dismissal.” Smiling as he left the court, Choe expressed his intention to run the BAI in a way that would “not make people uneasy,” adding that it is “more important than ever for public officials to fulfill their duties” amid ongoing political turmoil. Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, speaks to reporters as he arrives for work in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on March 13. [YONHAP] The court also unanimously dismissed impeachment motions against three senior prosecutors: Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office; Cho Sang-won, deputy chief prosecutor at the office; and Choi Jae-hoon, head of the office's second anti-corruption division. The trio were impeached for declining to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme. The DP had also accused the prosecutors of misleading the media and providing Kim with special treatment by questioning her outside the main office of their branch. But the court found that these allegations did not constitute sufficient grounds for impeaching the officials, as their actions did not indicate violations of the Constitution or the law. Thursday’s rulings were welcomed by the presidential office, which described the decision as a “strong warning” to the DP against the excessive use of the Assembly’s impeachment powers. The interim leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), Rep. Kwon Young-se, similarly praised the rulings for “putting an end to the DP’s politically driven use of impeachment.” Kwon argued that the impeachments rejected by the court were “driven by the interests of the parliamentary majority, rather than a genuine concern for the Constitution.” Following the decisions, Yoon’s legal team urged the court to also dismiss the parliamentary impeachment motion against the president. The DP, on the other hand, denied that it had abused the Assembly’s impeachment power. Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, the party’s main spokesperson, argued that the court’s ruling did not support the prosecutors’ claims that the legislature used impeachment for political purposes. Notably, the court acknowledged that it could not definitively say the DP had abused impeachment, even if political motives may have been a factor. Since Yoon took office in May 2022, the DP-led Assembly has impeached 29 public officials. However, the Constitutional Court has upheld none of the eight impeachments where it has issued a ruling. The court has yet to announce the date of its upcoming verdict regarding Yoon’s impeachment, though over two weeks have passed since the last hearing of his trial. BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]

Constitutional Court dismisses impeachment motions against four senior officials Published: 13 Mar. 2025, 17:16 MICHAEL LEE [email protected] Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI Choe Jae-hae, chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection, speaks to reporters as he leaves the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on March 13. [NEWS1] The Constitutional Court on Thursday reinstated four senior officials who were impeached over allegations of mishandling investigations into various presidential affairs.

The cases, filed in December, have been closely scrutinized as potential indicators of how the court might rule regarding other impeachments, particularly that of President Yoon Suk Yeol. During his trial, Yoon claimed that his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law was partly driven by the National Assembly’s repeated impeachment of these officials and others in his administration, which he argued led to political gridlock.

In an 8-0 unanimous decision, the court overturned the Democratic Party (DP)-led impeachment of Choe Jae-hae, chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI), immediately reinstating him to his position. The DP had accused the BAI of conducting a politically influenced audit into the 2022 relocation of the presidential office and residence, alleging the probe was designed to absolve Yoon and his administration of wrongdoing during the move. Related Article Authorities tighten security around Constitutional Court as Yoon's impeachment ruling looms Constitutional Court rejects impeachment motion against BAI chief Choe Jae-hae Political unease builds as Constitutional Court remains mum on Yoon verdict But the court’s majority opinion, read by Justice Kim Hyeong-du, dismissed these allegations.

“The BAI conducted an audit to determine whether the process of relocating the Presidential Office and residence complied with relevant legal procedures, and there are no circumstances suggesting it was an inadequate audit,” Kim said. The court also rejected the DP’s claims that Choe had conducted an audit into the former chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in an attempt to force her resignation. In a separate concurring opinion, three justices — Lee Mi-son, Jung Jung-mi and Chung Kye-sun —acknowledged that Choe had violated the agency’s constitutional independence by revising internal rules to grant the prime minister the power to request audits.

However, they concluded that this violation was not “severe enough to warrant his dismissal.” Smiling as he left the court, Choe expressed his intention to run the BAI in a way that would “not make people uneasy,” adding that it is “more important than ever for public officials to fulfill their duties” amid ongoing political turmoil. Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, speaks to reporters as he arrives for work in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on March 13.

[YONHAP] The court also unanimously dismissed impeachment motions against three senior prosecutors: Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office; Cho Sang-won, deputy chief prosecutor at the office; and Choi Jae-hoon, head of the office's second anti-corruption division. The trio were impeached for declining to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme. The DP had also accused the prosecutors of misleading the media and providing Kim with special treatment by questioning her outside the main office of their branch.

But the court found that these allegations did not constitute sufficient grounds for impeaching the officials, as their actions did not indicate violations of the Constitution or the law. Thursday’s rulings were welcomed by the presidential office, which described the decision as a “strong warning” to the DP against the excessive use of the Assembly’s impeachment powers. The interim leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), Rep.

Kwon Young-se, similarly praised the rulings for “putting an end to the DP’s politically driven use of impeachment.” Kwon argued that the impeachments rejected by the court were “driven by the interests of the parliamentary majority, rather than a genuine concern for the Constitution.” Following the decisions, Yoon’s legal team urged the court to also dismiss the parliamentary impeachment motion against the president.

The DP, on the other hand, denied that it had abused the Assembly’s impeachment power. Rep. Jo Seoung-lae, the party’s main spokesperson, argued that the court’s ruling did not support the prosecutors’ claims that the legislature used impeachment for political purposes.

Notably, the court acknowledged that it could not definitively say the DP had abused impeachment, even if political motives may have been a factor. Since Yoon took office in May 2022, the DP-led Assembly has impeached 29 public officials. However, the Constitutional Court has upheld none of the eight impeachments where it has issued a ruling.

The court has yet to announce the date of its upcoming verdict regarding Yoon’s impeachment, though over two weeks have passed since the last hearing of his trial. BY MICHAEL LEE [ [email protected] ] var admarutag = admarutag || {} admarutag.cmd = admarutag.

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