President Yoon Seok-yeol. /Photo=Presidential photojournalist group”/>
President Yoon Seok-yeol. /Photo=Presidential Photo Reporters The transcript of the phone call between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Myung Tae-gyun, released by the Democratic Party of Korea on the 31st, contains the circumstances of the president’s intervention in the nomination, causing a stir in the political world. The opposition party, including the Democratic Party, is expected to continue its ‘impeachment‘ offensive against President Yoon using this transcript. However, the ruling party denied that it was grounds for impeachment based on the fact that President Yoon was the elected president at the time of the phone call.
The reason why the recording of President Yoon’s speech is problematic is because the Constitution and election law prohibit the president from interfering in party affairs, including the national convention.
Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution states that ‘the status and political neutrality of public officials are guaranteed by law.’ In addition, Article 9, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that ‘Public officials and other persons who must maintain political neutrality shall not exercise undue influence on elections or engage in acts that affect election results.’
In the call log between President Yoon and Mr. Myung released by the Democratic Party on this day, President Yoon’s voice is heard saying, “The diplomatic committee brought it to me, and I said, ‘Kim Young-sun ran hard during the primary, so Kim Young-sun should do something about it.’ But there is a lot of talk in the party.” Contained. Mr. Myeong responded by saying, “I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life. Thank you.”
Conclusion of controversy over ‘violation of election neutrality’ that led to Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment crisis
Former President Roh Moo-hyun is announcing a statement to the nation in front of the Blue House main building on May 15, 2004. The Constitutional Court dismissed the National Assembly’s request during the sentencing hearing in the impeachment trial of President Roh Moo-hyun the day before. /Photo=Hingyeong DB The controversy over the president’s intervention in elections or party affairs was repeated under each administration. Among them, the controversy over President Roh Moo-hyun’s intervention in party affairs even drove him to the brink of impeachment.
Former President Roh was asked about the 17th general election at a special conference held by the Broadcasting Journalists Club to mark his first anniversary in office in February 2004, and said, “I expect that the people will overwhelmingly support the Uri Party in the general election.” “If I can do well and get votes for the Uri Party, I want to do everything legally,” he said, embroiled in controversy over “violation of election neutrality.”
At the time, the opposition party launched a motion for impeachment, calling former President Roh’s remarks a “violation of election neutrality,” which ultimately resulted in a ruling by the Constitutional Court. However, the Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment motion, ruling that former President Roh’s remarks were a ‘violation of the duty of neutrality in elections’ but not grounds for impeachment. The Constitutional Court ruled that “the president’s act of violating the law cannot be considered significant from the perspective of protecting the Constitution, and there is no reason to justify the decision to remove him from office.”
The reason the Democratic Party is unable to clearly answer ‘yes’ to the question of whether the recently released recording constitutes grounds for the impeachment of the President appears to be because of past cases like this.
Democratic Party floor leader Park Chan-dae, who held an emergency press conference that day and personally released President Yoon’s transcript, declined to comment when asked, “Do you think the transcript is grounds for the president’s impeachment?” by saying, “I think it’s probably a matter for the people to decide.” . Floor spokesperson Noh Jong-myeon also said, “It is a matter for the media to decide.”
Meanwhile, the President’s Office denies the President’s involvement in nominations. According to the recording, it was revealed that President Yoon was directly involved in the nomination for the National Assembly by-election on June 1, 2022. The President’s Office said, “The content of the phone call between President-elect Yoon and Myung Tae-gyun at the time was not important enough to be particularly memorable. “Since Mr. Myeong kept talking about nominating candidate Kim Young-sun, he was just saying it in a positive way,” he said.
The President’s Office also announced in a press release, “At the time, President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol never received any report on nominations from the Nomination Management Committee, nor did he order any nominations,” and added, “At the time, the decision-makers on nominations were party leader Lee Jun-seok and Nomination Management Committee Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun.” .
People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, who is classified as pro-Yoon, emphasized that President Yoon was the elected president at the time of the phone call and said, “It is not grounds for impeachment.”
Rep. Kwon met with reporters after a meeting of senior lawmakers at the National Assembly on this day and said, “If there is a serious act that violates the Constitution and laws while performing his official duties after becoming president, it is grounds for impeachment.”
He said, “As the president or president-elect, who is the number one member of the party, he can express his political opinions.” He added, “It is an extreme claim to say that this is election interference, election interference under the Public Official Election Act, and election interference.” “I see it,” he added.
Regarding the fact that former President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to prison for interference in nominations, Rep. Kwon said, “The case was that the Blue House at the time conducted an opinion poll related to the general election, delivered the contents of the opinion poll to the party, and pro-Park (pro-Park Geun-hye). ) He refuted, saying, “It was an act of sending a list of primary elections to assign politicians to specific regions,” and “In conclusion, the content is completely different from President Park Geun-hye’s election intervention.”
Seulgi Lee, Hankyung.com reporter seulkee@hankyung.com
