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This cartoon depicts the massive public demonstrations that have taken place calling for President Park Geun-hye’s resignation

After first the Justice Party and the People’s Party and then the Minjoo Party added President Park Geun-hye’s resignation to their official party platforms, the three opposition parties have started discussing impeachment proceedings in case Park refuses to step down. On Nov. 15, more than 20 lawmakers from these parties held a debate in the National Assembly about constitutional issues surrounding Park’s impeachment.

During the debate, Kim Jong-cheol, a constitutional scholar from Yonsei University, and Han Sang-hui, a law professor from Konkuk University agreed that the legal conditions for impeaching Park had been satisfied.

“The evidence that has been disclosed thus far suggests that money was taken from large corporations for the Mir and K-Sports Foundations and that pro-corporate policies were then drafted and implemented, which can be regarded as bribery in a broad sense,” Kim said.

“Through serious violations of the law -- such as leaking classified documents, exploiting the state for private purposes through the misuse and abuse of her power of appointment and allowing unofficial confidantes to influence her decision-making - President Park has willfully violated the basic principles that constitute the rule of law and a democratic society,” he added.

Han expressed a similar view: “Passing a motion of impeachment is justified when the president can no longer be allowed to do his or her job from the perspective of defending the constitution or when the president has forfeited his or her qualifications to run the government by betraying the trust of the people. The conditions are in place for President Park to be impeached.”

But even if the conditions for impeachment are satisfied and a quorum of 200 lawmakers is secured, there are several issues that need to be considered for the subsequent proceedings to go smoothly. One factor is that the terms of two of the nine justices on the Constitutional Court - President Park Han-chul and Justice Lee Jung-mi - will be coming to an end in February and March of next year, respectively.

“To confirm an impeachment, six of the Constitutional Court justices must vote in favor, and if there are any vacancies on the bench, those vacancies are regarded legally as votes against impeachment. Even a single vacancy makes impeachment much more difficult,” Kim said.

“The current composition of the Constitutional Court is very conservative. No matter how overwhelming public sentiment is, it is unclear whether this will change the value judgments and legal perspective that these justices have held for their entire lives,” he added.

Another wildcard is the fact that the National Assembly committee in charge of impeachment motions would be chaired by the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who belongs to the ruling Saenuri Party. After a bill of impeachment is passed by the National Assembly, the impeachment proceedings do not begin until the Speaker of the National Assembly sends the bill to the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who must then submit the bill to the Constitutional Court. The chair of this committee is supposed to inspect the bill and has the authority and responsibility to submit evidence related to the impeachment.

“There could be a problem if the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee tries to buy time or does not faithfully fulfill his responsibilities as the chair of the impeachment bill committee,” said Kim Gyeong-jin, a lawmaker with the People‘s Party.

By Lee Se-young, staff reporter

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