Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the People Power Party and the secretary of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee, said on the 8th, 'Lee Jae-myung, the representative of the Democratic Party, is abusing the power of authority to undermine the rule of law,' adding that 'even if he is elected president, the trial must proceed.' This targets the ongoing controversy over the judicial process involving the prominent candidate, Lee, in the lead-up to an early presidential election.
Article 84 of the Constitution stipulates that 'the president shall not be subject to indictment while in office, except for insurrection or foreign exchange crimes.' The ruling and opposition parties are clashing over whether 'indictment' includes ongoing trials.
Lee claims that the indictment specified in Article 84 of the Constitution includes trials, arguing that if he becomes president, the trials will stop.
On this day, Yoo stated during a party strategy meeting, 'The constitutional privilege of non-indictment is meant to guarantee the performance of presidential duties, not a means to conceal crimes,' adding that 'a criminal defendant facing five trials on 12 charges should not stand above the law simply because they are a party leader and a prominent presidential candidate.'
He added, 'The judiciary must proceed with the trial procedures against Lee without any political considerations, swiftly and strictly.'
Yoo noted, 'Article 65, Section 3 of the Constitution, Article 32 of the Constitutional Court Act, and Article 5 of the Criminal Extradition Act all strictly distinguish between indictment and trial,' emphasizing that many constitutional scholars believe that indictment should be narrowly interpreted as prosecution, warning that an expansive interpretation could justify an abuse of power.
He continued, 'The Supreme Court must apply the 6-3-3 principle (Article 270 of the Public Official Election Act states that the judgment of election crime trials must be made within six months of indictment for the first trial, and three months each for the second and third trials, totaling one year) to expedite the appellate review and should present clear grounds for judgment to the public even before the presidential election,' asserting that 'the judiciary must demonstrate that there are no exceptions before the law to ensure that the rule of law is never swayed by politics.'