Assembly passes motion to impeach chief auditor, top prosecutors

Dec 06, 2024, 11:09 am

AsiaToday reporter Jeong Chae-hyeon

The opposition-led National Assembly on Thursday passed impeachment motions against Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chair Choe Jae-hae and three top prosecutors, including Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, over their roles in investigations related to the relocation of the presidential office and first lady Kim Keon-hee. It is the first time in the history of the Constitutional Court that a BAI chief and a chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office have been impeached by parliament. With the motion’s passage, all four will be suspended from their duties until the Constitutional Court rules on whether to uphold their impeachment.

The motions passed 188-4 against Choe, 185-3 against Lee, 187-4 against Cho and 186-4 against Choi. Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote.

Under the Audit and Inspection Service Act, Cho Eun-seok, one of the six-member audit committee, will temporarily take over the responsibilities of Choe’s position until a permanent replacement is determined. However, Cho’s term of office ends on January 17 next year. After that, Kim In-hoe will take over as acting chairman. First Chief Prosecutor Park Seung-hwan will fill the vacuum as an acting leader of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. Under the Public Prosecutors’ Office Act, there is a provision in which the deputy prosecutor represents the chief prosecutor when the chief prosecutor is unable to perform his or her duties due to unavoidable reasons.

The ruling PPP held an emergency general meeting and held a party-level condemnation meeting at the Rotender Hall in the National Assembly building.

“This is a lowly political plot by the Democratic Party to intimidate and paralyze its function by impeachment, regardless of whether it is a state, constitutional, or investigative agency, if it interferes with Lee Jae-myung,” said PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho. “It is a reckless tyranny unprecedented in the history of the Constitution.”

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