Ruling Party’s Direct Challenge to CCK’s Decision

As Cheong Wa Dae and the Uri Party confronted the Constitutional Court’s ruling that defined the Special Law on New Administrative Capital Construction as unconstitutional, the ruling power is being criticized for its direct challenge to the Constitutional Court’s authority.

Nine Uri Party lawmakers of North Chungcheong Province, including Rep. Kim Jong-ryul, announced in a press conference held yesterday at the North Chungcheong provincial government office of their plan to “introduce a motion of impeachment against the judges and the chief justice of the court who ruled the capital relocation law unconstitutional.”

Rep. Kim said, “We are planning to declare such a plan in the National Assembly next Monday morning and collect consent from other lawmakers in our party to propose it as an impeachment motion.”

The impeachment of the Constitutional Court judges requires that the proposal be from one-third or more of lawmakers registered in the National Assembly and its approval will require over half of the registered lawmakers’ consent.

Cheon Jeong-bae, floor leader of the Uri Party, at the Central Standing Committee meeting, said, “I cannot understand the Constitutional Court’s decision at all,” and raised the following questions: - Seoul as the capital can be a common law, but is it constitutionally effective?; - Can the Constitutional Court, created by the Constitution, a written law, nullify the Constitution?

Kim Byeong-joon, chief policy planner at Cheong Wa Dae, joined the criticism against the Constitutional Court, saying at the National Assembly’s steering committee meeting for inspection on government offices on the same day, “I felt the Constitutional Court had some major problems while listening to its decision. It was putting a new restriction on the National Assembly’s legislative power and therefore, raised an important question on the system of representative government and its legislative body.”

Meanwhile, governors and mayors of three Chungcheong regions, including Daejon Mayor Yeom Hong-cheol, South Chungcheong Province Governor Shim Dae-pyeong, North Chungcheong Province Governor Lee Won-jong, held a press conference in Yooseong Tourists Hotel yesterday and urged the government and the political powers to proceed with the capital relocation.

GNP spokeswoman, Chun Yeo-ok criticized it, saying, “They said the Constitutional Court’s decision should be respected when it ruled the president impeachment unconstitutional. Now they are confronting the same court’s decision by saying Seoul as a capital is merely a common law and so forth. Such a behavior should be considered a challenge to constitutionalism.”