Dinner on Constitutional Day

The traditional state-level dinner on Constitutional Day, delayed by heavy rains last year, has the symbolic meaning of maintaining and upholding the rule of law in Korea. The dinner brings the heads of legislative, judicial, and executive branches and the head of Constitutional Court together to celebrate the day when Korea’s constitution was written for the first time.

Presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said at noon, “The Constitutional Court and National Election Commission (NEC) are concerned parties of the president’s constitutional petition, and the heads of the two organizations feel pressured to attend the dinner. So the National Assembly speaker recommended them not to attend the meeting and the president approved the recommendation.”

The Constitutional head said his plan not to show up the dinner in the afternoon of July 16, along with the election commission chairman, in the morning of that day.

The presidential office responded to their plan by saying that, “It would be rude to president.” However, many judges have agreed to their plan.

Under the Article 4 of the ethical standards for judges written in 1998, judges are not allowed to meet with plaintiffs, defendants and agents out of courtrooms except for legal purposes.

On June 21, the president filed a petition to Constitutional Court on the decision granted by the NEC that he violated his obligation to remain neutral in elections.

The relations between the president, the heads of the NEC, and the Constitutional Court are the relations between claimant, claimee, and head judge. One senior judge said, “When it comes to election law, repetition of behavior is the most important criteria to weigh. The president has repeated his behavior and even threatened the NEC. The three should never dine together.”

Right after Cheong Wa Dae cancelled the dinner, Roh posted an eleven-page statement on the need for reform of Korea’s Constitution and election laws on his website.

jin0619@donga.com