PARLIAMENT PASSES IMPEACHMENT MOTION OF JUDGE

[Anchor Lead]

The South Korean parliament on Thursday passed a motion for the impeachment of a senior judge Lim Seong-geun who is accused of judicial power abuse.
It‘s the first time for a sitting judge to be impeached in the country’s constitutional history while there have been impeachment trials against presidents twice before

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The ruling Democratic Party was not concerned about the impeachment motion passing in parliament as 161 lawmakers from the wider progressive camp had jointly proposed the motion.

[Soundbite] Kim Tae-nyeon(Floor leader, Democratic Party) : "Our party will fulfill the National Assembly’s duty today by voting on the impeachment of judge Lim Seong-geun who has violated the Constitution."

The bill was supported by 179 out of 288 lawmakers in attendance. 102 opposed. It marked the first parliamentary impeachment of a sitting judge in South Korea's constitutional history. Earlier, main opposition People Power Party's lawmaker Jun Joo-hyae filed a motion for the case to be investigated by the Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but it was voted down. Violation of the independence of court trials is the key argument behind the impeachment. In Lim Seong-geun's first trial, the court acknowledged his infringement on the independence of other judges. Lawmakers who supported the impeachment also cited a 2018 resolution approved by a National Conference of Judiciary Representatives who called for the need to impeach judges involved in power abuse.

[Soundbite] Rep. Lee Tan-hi(Democratic Party) : "Condemning such acts is necessary to safeguard judicial independence and the public’s right to receive an independent trial."

However the main opposition criticized the impeachment as a move to “tame” the judiciary, as Lim’s trial was still ongoing.

[Soundbite] Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon(People Power Party) : "Why an impeachment now after being silent a year ago? It will be difficult to deny the intent of hoping to strongly influence the trial."

The PPP also reiterated the possibility of pushing for the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su.

[Soundbite] Joo Ho-young(Floor leader, People Power Party) : "Our party is contemplating a move so it won’t be seen as a reflex response to Lim’s impeachment."

The next step of legal action lies with Representative Yun Ho-jung who chairs the Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee. When the impeachment resolution is delivered to the Supreme Court, judge Lim Seong-geun will be suspended.