Constitutional Court Dismisses Impeachment of Prosecutors Amid Controversy

On March 13, the Constitutional Court convened to rule on the impeachment of Chief Auditor Choi Jae-hae and prosecutors Lee Chang-soo, Jo Sang-won, and Choi Jae-hoon. The court unanimously dismissed the impeachment motions against them, stating that their actions did not violate the Constitution or any laws.

In November of last year, the Democratic Party of Korea announced plans to impeach the prosecutors for allegedly exonerating Kim Geon-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case. In response, all 33 deputy and senior prosecutors from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office issued a statement on the internal network, urging the party to cease what they described as a violation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers. Prosecutors from the Southern District and the Central District also joined in, criticizing the impeachment efforts. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office issued a separate statement affirming their commitment to resist undue pressure.

On December 5, the Democratic Party passed the impeachment motion against the three prosecutors in a National Assembly session and also requested an audit of those who opposed the impeachment. They claimed that the prosecutors' public statements against the impeachment violated their duty of political neutrality as public officials. The party also accused the higher authorities of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office and the Ministry of Justice of neglecting their duties by not disciplining the prosecutors who issued the statements.

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) conducted an investigation following the Democratic Party's request, deploying six auditors for over four months. This was mandated by a provision in the National Assembly Act that requires the BAI to conduct audits on matters requested by the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed the impeachment motions against the prosecutors, concluding that their actions did not breach any constitutional or legal provisions in the course of their duties.

In its audit report released on July 4, the BAI stated that the prosecutors' opposition to the impeachment reflected concerns about the potential degradation of prosecutorial functions and the political neutrality of prosecutors. The BAI found it difficult to conclude that their actions were directly related to the prohibition of political activities by public officials. They also noted that the prosecutors' collective statement could not be classified as a violation of public interest or a failure to fulfill their duties.

The BAI further clarified that the prosecutors' statements were expressions of concern regarding the legitimacy of the impeachment, and it was not appropriate to categorize them as a denial of the National Assembly's impeachment authority or the principle of separation of powers.

Regarding the Democratic Party's claims that the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office failed to discipline the prosecutors, the BAI pointed out that the statements were made on an internal network and did not constitute a breach of public trust. They concluded that there was no basis for disciplinary action against the prosecutors.

The BAI also addressed discussions within the prosecutors' association about providing legal fee support for the impeached prosecutors, determining that this was a legitimate effort to assist colleagues facing difficulties due to the impeachment process. They emphasized that this did not equate to shielding illegal actions by the prosecutors.

Consequently, the BAI announced that it would take no action against the prosecutors in question and concluded the audit. Typically, if there are no issues to address, audit reports are not made public; however, due to the mandatory nature of this audit, a 'no violation' report was released.