President Roh Returns to Office

Following a two-month trial, the Constitutional Court rejected the impeachment case of President Roh, saying that his violation of election laws was not serious enough to warrant his dismissal from office.

Accordingly, President Roh, whose presidential authority was suspended with the National Assembly’s approval of impeachment on March 12, returned to office upon the Constitutional Court’s verdict.

The Constitutional Court held a trial for this case on May 14, where it rejected the National Assembly’s request for Roh’s dismissal.

The court did not disclose the minority opinion on the grounds that disclosure of minority opinion in an impeachment case is against the Constitutional Court law, but it was reported that the final decision of nine judges was divided into six who opposed and three who supported the impeachment.

The court’s president Yoon Young-cheol read the final statement, which said that when considering the risk of national loss, administration voids, or confusion caused by disunion of public opinion is high, the request to unseat the president can be granted only when there have been serious violations of the law. The court acknowledged President Roh’s violations of the constitution and the law, but it ruled that they were not serious enough to unseat him.

The court, however, said that the president’s power and authority are granted by the constitution and his disrespect for the constitution means that he has renounced himself, and it added that the president himself should not only obey the constitution and law, but also face illegal acts with strictness.

President Roh’s violations of the law include a press interview with journalists from Seoul and the Incheon area on February 18, 2004, his remarks supporting the Uri Party at a press interview on February 24, his remarks disrespecting the National Election Commission’s decision on violation of election laws, and his suggestion for a vote of confidence.

However, the court did not acknowledge the scandals of the president’s close aides as legitimate grounds for impeachment on the grounds that some of the alleged scandals occurred before Roh’s inauguration, and that the president’s involvement was not proven in other such scandals. “Lack of order in national administration” and “economic crisis” were also not included as grounds for his impeachment.

It was also revealed that the president’s remarks regarding the appointment of Koh Young-koo as National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief and the dismissal of Kim Doo-gwan from the Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs could not be regarded as violations of the law.

Meanwhile, the court said that it would not accept Roh’s counsels’ requests for rejection because they could not find flaws in the procedures for passing the impeachment bill.

Sang-Rok Lee myzodan@donga.com