Choi Jae-hyung said, "It will be difficult to change the direction of the audit or reverse the results."

[YTN radio news fighting! I'm Bae Seunghee]

□ Broadcasting: FM 94.5 (07:15-09:00)
□ Broadcast date and time: December 02, 2024 (Monday)
□ Host: Attorney Bae Seung-hee
□ Cast: Choi Jae-hyung, former lawmaker of the People's Power

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

[YTN Radio <News Fighting, Bae Seunghee]> Please clarify that it's about the interview.]

◆ Lawyer Bae Seung-hee (hereinafter referred to as Bae Seung-hee): I'm Bae Seung-hee from News Fighting. We will continue with the third part of the issue interview. The Board of Audit and Inspection held an executive-level emergency meeting and protested the Democratic Party's first-ever impeachment of the Board of Audit and Inspection. Five former auditors also announced their position, expressing their deep regret over the unprecedented impeachment push. He's the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection in this regard. We invited Choi Jae-hyung, a former member of the People's Power. Hello,

◇ Choi Jae-hyung, former member of the People's Power (hereinafter referred to as Choi Jae-hyung): Yes, hello.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: The Democratic Party has said it will seek to impeach the auditor. This is the first time in constitutional history that the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, the head of the constitutional institution, has been impeached What do you think?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: First of all, I don't like the results of the audit, and so-called, I also see that they will tame the Board of Audit and Inspection. With that intention, I think it is a very dangerous idea to drag the Board of Audit and Inspection, whose political neutrality and job independence are the lifeblood, into the middle of a political dispute. And it's no exaggeration to say that the Democratic Party controls Congress as the absolute majority of the National Assembly. I am a little concerned that the responsible power of the majority party with such parliamentary power seems to be taking it too lightly and exercising it recklessly.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: The reason why the Democratic Party cited impeachment was because of the poor audit before the presidential office and the failure to submit the audit data. Do you see this as a serious breach of constitutional law?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: Of course, the Constitutional Court will judge, but the audit results are a little poor, and it is quite questionable whether it should be considered a serious violation of the law or constitution just because the results they thought did not come out. In particular, with regard to non-submission of data, the National Assembly's Act on Appraisal of Testimony is so strong that all data are required to be submitted. But isn't there a lot of sensitive data when the clause is actually operated? Regarding these things, there are practices that have been widely recognized as reasons for refusal to submit them or that they only read them by agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. Therefore, such practices should be fully considered when judging the Constitutional Court. That's what I think.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Then it's not a serious violation of the constitutional law.

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: Wouldn't any of the people think so? I don't know if there are people who think I'm not good enough.E, so to speak, not many people think that the continuing performance of the auditor's duties is an unacceptable violation of the constitution or law.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: But rather, because I appreciate these things that happened during the Moon Jae In administration, there is a view that it is a retaliatory impeachment.

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: Of course, the Democratic Party thought of such criticism. In other words, I wasn't arguing about the results of the previous government's audit, I was arguing that the results of the audit of what happened in the current government were poor. In the background, the auditor's audit of the previous government. And there will be things that are going on right now. I think there will be such a dimension as complaints about these things and training the Board of Audit and Inspection, but the Board of Audit and Inspection is originally to appreciate and correct anything wrong with the former or the current government, but I don't think it makes sense to argue with it.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. So, Choi Sang-sa, chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, said, "I'm sorry about the political impeachment and there's no voluntary resignation." Today, the Secretary-General of the Board of Audit and Inspection will announce his position through an emergency briefing. What position do you want me to take?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: First of all, the impeachment of the auditor. Let me make it clear that this is a treatment that risks significant harm to the political neutrality of the Board of Audit and Inspection or the independence of symptoms. Then, if this happens, the Board of Audit and Inspection should carry out the audit without wavering. I think it's something like this.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. If the duties of the auditor Choi Sang-sa are suspended this time, the agency system will take place next. Two auditors appointed during the Moon Jae In government act as acting commissioners. If these two actively exercise their authority as acting agents, will the outcome or direction of this disposition be different?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: The Democratic Party said it would impeach the auditor, but I think the Democratic Party has put those things in its calculations. However, acting as an acting authority means managing the organization tentatively until the suspension of the auditor's duties is resolved. So, I think that the essence of the work is to ensure that the work that has been done before continues to perform well and to operate the organization in a stable manner. But if you try to change the existing audit direction or reverse the previously audited results, things like that. I don't expect to try that, and I think I should. Even if I do, the auditor, of course, has the command of the overall audit and leads the operation of the audit committee.Ma, when it is exercised in a reasonable and just direction, the strength is concentrated. If you conduct something unreasonable or unreasonable, the organization will become very difficult and it will not go as intended. So, I expect that those who act on behalf of the authority will have to know that much and perform the duties of the acting authority and will do so.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: You said that the Democratic Party is taming, but some say that the Democratic Party intends to take control of the Board of Audit and Inspection. In fact, if we really prosecute impeachment now, will we tame it as it says?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: First of all, there will be a significant disruption to the work of the Board of Audit and Inspection. It will be a problem.Ma is not the kind of organization that can be tamed. Regardless of how the administration changes, I think it is the auditor's job to always remain politically neutral and exercise independent audit authority.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: So isn't the impeachment of the auditor the first time in constitutional history? I think the auditor with neutrality will feel different. Should I call it a hit?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: I'm sure everyone was a little surprised. The story of the impeachment of the auditor came out of the blue. In fact, everyone would have been surprised to see the president of the Board of Audit and Inspection out of the blue, but as the expression "the first time in constitutional history" implies, we should not do it carelessly, and if the director of the Board of Audit and Inspection Chung's job is a problem, we should solve it in another way.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: The Democratic Party has already taken out its 11th impeachment card less than half a year after the 22nd National Assembly was revised. As President Yoon's approval rating is struggling, it seems that he is abusing his impeachment without any burden. How do you see it?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: The Democratic Party of Korea exercises its authority so brutally because the government in charge of state affairs does not fix it and insists on it when there are various wrong policies. As only such an internal conflict over the party's power is seen, in fact, the government and the ruling party should present a vision for the future of the country and come up with solutions to various problems, but I think the Democratic Party of Korea is not playing such a role properly. How will the government and the ruling party quickly win the hearts of the people? I think we should focus on presenting a specific vision for what direction we will lead our country's future.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. You were also a judge. Let's talk about the innocence of Lee Jae-myung's perjury teacher in the first trial. The court judged, "There were perjury and teachers, but there was no intention." How did you see this ruling?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: I've heard all of the recordings. First of all, I understand that you are the witness you applied for.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: From Lee Jae-myung's side.

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: Lee asked me to testify after applying, but I don't remember. I don't know. But the overall purpose is that he asked me to do it in this direction. However, the perjury teacher did not know that he would testify like that, and there was no intention. The court thought about it, but I don't think it's convincing logic. It's like there are some acacia trees in a pine forest, so this is an acacia forest. Aren't you insisting? I'm not asking you to lie to me because I want you to do what you remember. There are a few words in it. Overall, however, he asked me to testify like this regardless of my memory, but I didn't know that he would testify like that after making such a request. I don't think this makes any sense.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: We don't see this intentionality, so don't we presume it as an act? Then, if there was perjury and a teacher, don't you usually judge by presuming intentionality?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: Even if you asked for perjury as a teacher and testified again, you must be intentional.Ma said, "There must be a good reason for the person who asked for testimony to be true, or that there was a good reason for believing that the person who asked for it was true, or that this situation should be fully proved, and he/she may have known that." It is not such a common sense judgment to judge that he/she did not have any intention of perjury to the accused who asked for testimony of untrue content.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: The prosecution appealed, saying, "It's like looking at individual pieces of the mosaic and not being able to admit the whole picture." Is there a possibility that it will be changed at the appeal trial?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: I think there is a possibility that it will change.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: There is a possibility that perjury teachers may be guilty.

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: Yes, I think there is a possibility that it will change.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Okay. And the Supreme Court confirmed Kim In-seop, a lobbyist in Baekhyun-dong, to five years in prison. In the course of the Baekhyun-dong development project, the court had Kim In-seop's fraudulent request. Isn't it the approval authority who is the subject of the fraudulent request? Will that affect Lee Jae-myung's trial?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: First of all, we have arranged licensing matters for Seongnam city officials such as CEO Lee Jae-myung and Jeong Jin-sang. The content of the judgment against Kim In-seop is that he gained a profit there. Of course, it is difficult to say that CEO Lee's breach of duty was proved just because there was a mediation. It's not directly logically linked, but in connection with the public announcement of false information about Baekhyun-dong in violation of the Public Official Election Act, isn't it false that Lee had no choice but to do so at the threat of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport? There's something I want to hide. If so, I think it is possible to infer what kind of relationship there was between these arrangements and licensing. Of course, such a connection point must be fully proved by the prosecution and judged by the court, but from common sense, the two are very likely to be connected.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: So you're saying that the mediation will affect CEO Lee Jae-myung's breach of duty. simply.

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: That's right.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: The Democratic Party is pushing for the removal of the punishment clause for the publication of false information under the election law. A bill has also been proposed. It is argued that this provision overly restricts freedom of expression. How do you see this?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: I don't think our society has a social consensus that freedom of expression should be recognized from elections to freedom to lying. And furthermore, lies to influence the outcome of the election, which took place in the process of electing representatives of the people. I don't think it's about embracing freedom of expression.

◆ Is that so? But if you look at it. This Public Official Election Act and perjury teachers. Everyone came up with unexpected conclusions and rulings. There are a lot of conclusions that look like this. In this regard, many listeners are curious about whether the ruling can be changed according to the judge's personal disposition. What do you think since you've actually been a judge?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: The judgment is based on the Constitution and the law and is based on an independent conscience as a lawyer, but there can be no difference. There may be some variations. It is now the judicial system to pray for the unification of the entire court through appeals and appeals through that system. Because it was the first trial, the results were slightly different from what the people expected or what others expected. But I don't think other results like that are necessarily wrong. However, it is the judicial system that corrects the wrongs in the first trial and eventually creates the overall unified court opinion of the Supreme Court.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. There was something that many people suspected like Justice Kwon Soon-il in the past. If you look at these parts, I think there are still parts such as whether lobbying works or not. Don't many people actually connect at the court and just look for articles of association? Do those things have an impact, too?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: It shouldn't have an impact. I don't know that every trial is 100% unaffected, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no such level of impact that the public is concerned about. That's how I see it.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Okay. Speaking of the Public Official Election Act. Some of the Democratic Party of Korea say that the Public Official Election Act should be considered for an unconstitutional legal trial. Will the court accept it?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: If I request an unconstitutional legal trial, will the trial proceedings not be suspended? Therefore, it seems that it is considered as a means of delaying the trial, but the Constitutional Court has already ruled on such constitutional petitions, such as unclear concept of action or too harsh punishment in relation to the violation of the Public Official Election Act on the publication of false information. Even then, the court did not accept the request for an unconstitutional legal trial, so it went to a constitutional petition. Again, in the context of such precedents by the Constitutional Court, it is unlikely that the court will accept the request for an unconstitutional trial.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: So if you don't accept it, can an individual file another unconstitutional lawsuit?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: That's right. You can make a constitutional appeal. However, even if the constitutional petition is made, the trial proceedings proceed.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. I see. Cho Kuk, the leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, is waiting for the Supreme Court's sentence on the 12th. How do you expect a Supreme Court sentence?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: It is not appropriate to make a preliminary judgment. Isn't this being tried by the sub-division right now? And the legal issues of the case about representative Cho Kuk overlap with the case of his wife, Professor Chung Kyung-sim. So, if we disagree now, we have to go to the en banc, but we decided not to go to the en banc, but to just sentence it in the subcommittee. If I delay that, I think I won't judge it differently from the original trial.The Supreme Court's ruling will have some consequences. I don't think it's appropriate to say it publicly to make a prediction.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: For example, if you get a two-year prison sentence, will you be imprisoned there right away? Or do you give me some time?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: That depends on the decision. In the case of representative Cho Kuk, I think he will give a certain amount of time.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Does the court decide on the spot? Whether it's two days or three days?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: That's right. Maybe I'll do it right away or maybe a little...

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Enforcement is done in a few days. like this,

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: I think that can give you some room.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: You have a clue. I see. The content of the public's power over the controversy over the party's bulletin board is growing. As the pro-Yoon-gye did not stop the offensive, the close circle is fighting back, even mentioning the possibility of a vote to leave the special prosecution law. What do you think of this internal situation?

◇ Choi Jae-hyung: We're not in a situation where we can argue about that, are we? The people are actually not very interested in it, no matter who takes the party. No matter who takes the party, if they are turned away from the people, they will annihilate together. I hope we can stop this internal dispute and focus on presenting an accurate vision on how to set the future of the people and the future of this country and winning the hearts of the people.

◆ Bae Seung-Hee: Okay, I see. Thank you for your words today. So far, I've been with Choi Jae-hyung, a former member of the People's Power. Thank you.

◇ CHOI JAE HYEONG: Yes, thank you.