The time is set for the ROK Constitutional Court to announce their ruling on the impeachment of President Park:
This image shows President Park Geun-hye (R) and Lee Jung-mi, acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court. (Yonhap)
The Constitutional Court will deliver its ruling on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye Friday, a court official said.
The announcement will be made at 11 a.m. and broadcast live from the main courtroom, court spokesman Bae Bo-yoon said Wednesday.
If the court upholds the impeachment, Park will be permanently removed from office and South Korea will be required to hold a presidential election within 60 days.
If the court rejects her impeachment, Park will be immediately reinstated to serve out her term through February. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I would not be surprised to see riots in the streets if President Park is not impeached. On the flip side if she is impeached I am really curious to see what the evidence against her is?
I’ve asked some of my Facebook friends in Korea what exactly they have on President Park. Never seem to get a reply. They’ll talk your ears off on the rest, but when you ask “Why, exactly. What crime did she commit?” you just get blank, confused stares.
Nobody at this site has any insight on any specifics either.
My Korean isn’t native caliber, but it looks like they cleared her of anything related to bribery and Sewol and but impeached her on leaking info, interfering with the press and influencing personnel decision?
While linking these, I’m not announcing I wish to engage/argue with anyone on this subject. I haven’t really followed this at all and am simply providing further reading on the subject. I’ve not a single clue as to whether she’s guilty of anything. You are all free to “research” the matter further on your own. 😛
That’s certainly how the process works in the US but in Korea the National Assembly does both impeaching and removing with a supreme court reviewing the process.
guitard
7 years ago
I think a very bad precedent has been set in Korea. The Constitutional Court felt pressured by the anti-Park crowd to uphold the impeachment and to some extent, that influenced their vote. The one and only rule by which someone should be judged is the rule of law. Sadly, in this case, mob rule influenced the case. Speculation on my part … but I think it’s safe to assume that if a justice on the Constitutional Court wanted to continue his/her career after serving on the CC (maybe as a professor at a prestigious law school), how he/she voted in this impeachment ruling would definitely affect future job prospects. Was that also in the back of the mind of any of the justices? You never have to worry about that with the US Supreme Court because they don’t have a limit on how long they serve, and almost always serve until they retire or die. But Lee Jung Mi (the lone female justice) is stepping down on Monday and she’s only 54 years old. The oldest justice is 64.
I’m told that she was impeached on leaking state info to unauthorized personnel and taking measures to benefit herself. Are we ever going to find out exactly what the witnesses said and whether any of this is worthy of impeachment, rather than something like censure?
If she’s not found guilty of taking bribes (she was already cleared of wrongdoing on he Sewol tragedy), then all the national rage was about a president allowing her friend to edit her speech and have undue influence on personnel decision?
Pretty much exactly as I called it. Would this prestigious professorship have been forthcoming if Chief Justice Lee had voted against upholding President Park’s impeachment?
Lee Jung-mi, the former acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court who impressed many with her grace under pressure as the court ruled on Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, will take up a chair at Korea University, her alma mater.
@Guitard, I think you are correct that this prestigious professorship would not have happened if she ruled the other way. She would have had too much baggage with protesters and the left wing media following her every move to work at a major university like this.
I’ve asked some of my Facebook friends in Korea what exactly they have on President Park. Never seem to get a reply. They’ll talk your ears off on the rest, but when you ask “Why, exactly. What crime did she commit?” you just get blank, confused stares.
Nobody at this site has any insight on any specifics either.
When you listen to Fools, the Mob Rules:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__NN16uoXk
Impeached.
Not there, not seeing what they found her guilty of.
Mob Mentality, until I hear otherwise.
I saw the live verdict.
My Korean isn’t native caliber, but it looks like they cleared her of anything related to bribery and Sewol and but impeached her on leaking info, interfering with the press and influencing personnel decision?
Maybe these will help:
Impeachment trial recap: It started with a kiss?
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170205000189
Park’s lawyers ask Constitutional Court to exclude key evidence
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20170118000894
While linking these, I’m not announcing I wish to engage/argue with anyone on this subject. I haven’t really followed this at all and am simply providing further reading on the subject. I’ve not a single clue as to whether she’s guilty of anything. You are all free to “research” the matter further on your own. 😛
Ninja mom to the rescue (yes, the video is related to this discussion).
https://youtu.be/yWpIukhDfAA
Somebody deleted the first video at the link. Here it is again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Je3IWQqsA
😀 😛 😀 😛 😀
I am confused.
Doesn’t “impeach” mean:
“Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body formally levels charges against a high official of Government.”
…rather than as a synonym for “removed from office”.
Bill Clinton was impeached but not removed from office.
That’s certainly how the process works in the US but in Korea the National Assembly does both impeaching and removing with a supreme court reviewing the process.
I think a very bad precedent has been set in Korea. The Constitutional Court felt pressured by the anti-Park crowd to uphold the impeachment and to some extent, that influenced their vote. The one and only rule by which someone should be judged is the rule of law. Sadly, in this case, mob rule influenced the case. Speculation on my part … but I think it’s safe to assume that if a justice on the Constitutional Court wanted to continue his/her career after serving on the CC (maybe as a professor at a prestigious law school), how he/she voted in this impeachment ruling would definitely affect future job prospects. Was that also in the back of the mind of any of the justices? You never have to worry about that with the US Supreme Court because they don’t have a limit on how long they serve, and almost always serve until they retire or die. But Lee Jung Mi (the lone female justice) is stepping down on Monday and she’s only 54 years old. The oldest justice is 64.
I’m told that she was impeached on leaking state info to unauthorized personnel and taking measures to benefit herself. Are we ever going to find out exactly what the witnesses said and whether any of this is worthy of impeachment, rather than something like censure?
If she’s not found guilty of taking bribes (she was already cleared of wrongdoing on he Sewol tragedy), then all the national rage was about a president allowing her friend to edit her speech and have undue influence on personnel decision?
Pretty much exactly as I called it. Would this prestigious professorship have been forthcoming if Chief Justice Lee had voted against upholding President Park’s impeachment?
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/03/24/2017032401640.html
Lee Jung-mi, the former acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court who impressed many with her grace under pressure as the court ruled on Park Geun-hye’s impeachment, will take up a chair at Korea University, her alma mater.
@Guitard, I think you are correct that this prestigious professorship would not have happened if she ruled the other way. She would have had too much baggage with protesters and the left wing media following her every move to work at a major university like this.