Presidential impeachment trial begins on the 27th...Prosecutors, Collaborative Articles Summon President Yoon

■ Host: Anchor Kim Youngsoo Kim, Anchor Lee Ha-rin
■ Starring: Attorney Kim Sung-hoon, Reporter Kim Youngsoo Kim

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN NewsON] when quoting.

[Anchor]
As previously mentioned, the Constitutional Court has designated the first preparation date for the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol as next Friday, the 27th. While the prosecution notified President Yoon of the summons again for refusing to comply with the first summons, the president's office refused to accept the request for attendance sent by the police and the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Let's analyze the urgent impeachment situation with Ytn Youngsoo Kim reporter and lawyer Kim Sung-hoon. Welcome, two of you.

The Constitutional Court held its first meeting of judges today. Let's listen to the relevant briefing first. First of all, the Constitutional Court has entered the impeachment trial of the president under a six-member system. But today, he nominated two life judges. What kind of judge is a life judge?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
Life expectancy is said to be a judge, a judge, and a judge, who plays a specific role in a certain hearing under the order of the court. In that sense, considering the significance of this case, the two judges were in charge of investigating evidence and researching specific issues. In other words, all six people currently participate in the trial and are in charge, but among them, they have given specific roles.

[Anchor]
I see. I'll tell you the news that just came in. There was a breaking news that Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, will be the representative of President Yoon's lawyers. The exact position is still being sorted out. He said he would reveal his position as soon as possible when the position is settled.

In the meantime, it has been interested in whether Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, will serve as a lawyer for President Yoon Suk Yeol, but he must have decided to take charge of it. Is the defense team in place?

[Reporter]
There have been some reports that there will be an announcement of the position today, but I think this is the first time that the position has been officially announced. As you said, Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, will probably be the representative of the defense team. And since we're organizing our position, I think we can hear the specific composition and future directions today or tomorrow.

[Anchor]
First, the impeachment bill was passed by the National Assembly. The National Assembly has to prove the reasons for impeachment in the Constitutional Court and talk about it again and again. Also, the president's lawyers will refute that. That's how it works, right?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
I ask you to submit a response to the impeachment motion. According to past precedents, the deadline for submitting the response is to be submitted within 7 to 10 days. Then, after looking at the answer to that, the first hearing preparation date is set. The overall procedure is in accordance with the procedures under the Criminal Procedure Act. The preparation period for pleading is basically a preparation period for what witnesses and what evidence to proceed with the trial in the future. If you look at the precedent, during the impeachment trial of former President Roh Moo Hyun, the hearing date was held immediately without preparation for the hearing.

[Anchor]
The first hearing preparation date is set at 2 p.m. on Friday, the 27th, and how is the first hearing preparation date compared to the case of former President Park Geun Hye?

[Reporter]
Looking at the last case, it's almost the same. The impeachment bill of former President Park Geun Hye was passed on December 9, 2016. The first hearing preparation period was held on December 22nd, so it took 13 days, which is similar to now. And the first argument began on January 3rd. January 3rd of the following year. So it took about 25 days. If we calculate this again, we can also estimate when the full-fledged impeachment trial against President Yoon Suk Yeol will begin.

[Anchor]
The first hearing of former President Park Geun Hye was on January 3rd. It took 91 days to decide, but there is a review until the decision is made. There's an argument, too. Isn't there going to be a trial?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
There's a deadline to prepare for the defense. Then, when the hearing preparation date is completed, the trial date will be held. Therefore, it can be said that on the pleading date, there will be a witness examination or such a dispute discussed in the pleading preparation date. In the case of former President Park Geun Hye, if the dates were carried out 17 times, there is a high possibility that the date itself will not be held several times in this case. The main reason is that the reason for impeachment itself is focused on one reason, not various reasons. In that reason, if there were specific instructions to prevent the National Assembly from invoking martial law by using force, and if objective testimonies on these instructions are confirmed, the trial itself can be settled very quickly.

[Anchor]
The president wants to attend the impeachment trial in person and broadcast it live. What do you think about the possibility of President Yoon attending in person?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
In principle, you can attend when you follow the criminal procedure law procedure yourself. It is also possible to attend and express your position on your own. However, if so, since the accused is the party to the trial, the court may ask specific direct questions there. Depending on the attitude shown there, the possibility that the trial process will proceed faster cannot be ruled out.

[Anchor]
Former President Park Geun Hye and Roh Moo Hyun were not present, were they?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
That's right.

[Anchor]
Can this be broadcast to the media during public hearings?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
It is usually possible to broadcast the media. So by default.

[Anchor]
Was it broadcasted during former President Park Geun Hye?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
I don't know if it was broadcast live.It can be seen that the principle of open trial applies as it is.

[Anchor]
Is there a possibility that it will be broadcast live?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
That's right.

[Reporter]
I think I have to tell you one more thing. First of all, Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, said he would be the representative of the defense team, but we need to see if this is in charge of criminal cases together. And I think we can talk about whether to comply with the summons here. Didn't you express your will to go head-on in the president's statement earlier? That's why we need to see what the lawyers will say. It can also be stated that it needs to be reviewed a little more. Because we were running out of time.

[Anchor]
The life judge has been decided today. Exactly what role does the life judge play?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
Specifically, in relation to the constitutional trial, there is an investigation of evidence on the facts. There is also a legal study based on the facts. So, I believe that the life judge takes on each role in legal research and evidence investigation. Trial researchers are assigned to each trial. Therefore, it can be seen that related tasks are quickly carried out on issues that can be controversial in this regard. All six members of the council themselves participate, but among them, judges who will play a specific role play such roles as life judges.

[Anchor]
I'm showing you a six-member system of the Constitutional Court right now, and a list of six constitutional judges right now. Constitutional Judge Moon Hyung-bae and Constitutional Judge Lee Mi-sun are judges appointed by former President Moon Jae In. It is said that the term of office will end on April 18th. So there is an observation that it could be decided before April 18th, how do you see it?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
I think that's very likely. The reason is not only because of his term in office, but considering that the total time of former President Park Geun Hye's impeachment trial took about 90 days, there were much more reasons for impeachment at that time. If there is an issue, it is necessary to conduct hearings for each issue. Now, in a way, the reason for prosecution itself is very single. Also, there are many key reasons for the prosecution, but the issue can be whether the National Assembly uses its physical force to block the right to lift martial law or whether the National Assembly, the constitutional body authorized to lift martial law, was militarily and physically arrested to prevent lawmakers from exercising it.

[Anchor]
Yoon may want the two judges appointed by President Moon Jae In to come to a conclusion after they leave office?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
It could be, but let's basically think about impeachment. Now, in Korea, for example, President Trump will take office on January 20th. If we invite the head of state of the Republic of Korea to the inauguration ceremony, in fact, no one can go now. Since it is a very serious constitutional crisis, I think the Constitutional Court is more likely to proceed with the trial hearing process faster than ever in this crisis situation. In that regard, it is highly likely that the court will quickly decide on the speed of the trial hearing, no matter how much the accused party has any intention in consideration of the term of office.

[Reporter]
Judge, it's hard to say. To make it easier for viewers to understand, it is in charge of this during the defense preparation period, but it is mainly about adopting witnesses and organizing issues of the case. Listening to each side.

[Anchor]
Both sides will ask for witnesses.

[Reporter]
It's the role of organizing those things, organizing what issues are in the referee's case, and preparing to proceed with it by organizing it so that it doesn't get too messy when entering the defense later. And since it's 90 days for the judgment period, it seems like the judgment of the former president Park Geun Hye has been going on for a long time. However, looking at the period of pleading, I did this 17 times, but I made 17 arguments in less than 60 days. That's why I argued every three or four days. It went faster than I thought.

[Anchor]
Earlier, we told you who the constitutional judge was. According to the Constitutional Court, Judge Moon Hyung-bae, Judge Lee Mi-sun, Judge Jeong Hyeong-sik, and Judge Jeong Jeong-mi. Like this, candidates Cho Han-chang, Jeong Gye-seon, and Ma Eun-hyuk will also hold a hearing this time. Then, do you think there's a possibility that 9 people will deliberate?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
I think that's a possibility.

[Anchor]
I'm showing you right now.

[Kim Sung Hoon]
In fact, if you look at the past case, during the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun Hye, former Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn exercised his right to appoint Supreme Court justices to the National Assembly at the time, so even now, it is very likely that constitutional judges will be appointed to the National Assembly during the critical constitutional trial process.

[Anchor]
The president can nominate three people and the chief justice can nominate three people. If you look at it now, former Presidents Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-sun, and Moon Jae In were nominated by President Yoon. Also, there are three chief justices of the Supreme Court, Kim Myung-soo, former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Kim Hyung-doo and Jeong Jeong-mi. And Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae nominated Judge Kim Bok-hyung. And there's a candidate. Jeong Gye-seon and Ma Eun-hyuk were recommended by the Democratic Party of Korea, and Cho Han-chang was recommended by the People's Power.

Attention is focused on who the chief judge will be, but the principle is to keep it private. Now some reports are reporting the referee. But basically, it's a rule to keep it private, right?

[Reporter]
In principle, it is private, but when former President Park Geun Hye was impeached, I think he made it public for the people's right to know. Because the case was so big and it was an impeachment trial case against the president, I think it was disclosed. He didn't reveal why he didn't reveal it this time or why he didn't. I saw a very careful atmosphere.

[Anchor]
And there is a possibility that the impeachment trial of President Yoon and the criminal trial will proceed at the same time, and the president may request a temporary suspension of the impeachment trial. That's why we can suspend the impeachment trial a little bit. Because I'm under investigation for a civil war case. But do you think there's a possibility that the Constitutional Court will accept it?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
In conclusion, I think it is low. Under the Constitutional Court Act, the trial process can be suspended if criminal proceedings are being conducted for the same reason as the request for an impeachment trial. Since it is said that criminal proceedings are in progress, it is an area that the Constitutional Court can judge at its discretion, as the expression "It can be said that if the accused is prosecuted and proceeds with a criminal trial, it can be suspended to guarantee the defendant's right to defend himself as a criminal defendant." We will compare the two legal interests in that area. If the so-called criminal proceedings go ahead, it will undermine the legal interest in the overall procedural proceedings of the presidential impeachment trial against the accused Yoon Suk Yeol and the accused Yoon Suk Yeol. At the national level, I think it's very likely that this is a legal interest that takes precedence over an individual's right to defend himself in criminal proceedings.

[Anchor]
It would be nice if you could show me a graphic comparing the trend of criminal trials.

[Kim Sung Hoon]
In practice, if the final trial conclusion is reached in the case of criminal proceedings, it may take years to consider the first, second, and third trials. Then, until then, the Constitutional Court's decision not to impeach the president is very unlikely to make such a decision because it creates a huge constitutional crisis.

[Anchor]
If the Constitutional Court decides on the final citation, we have to hold a presidential election within 60 days, right?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
That's right. If the decision to dismiss is made, it will be a constitutional presidential vacancy, so the presidential election must be held within 60 days there.

[Anchor]
I see. I will continue to ask the president about the investigation himself. Currently, the prosecution and the police are demanding that President Yoon attend at the same time. But he's not attending. How are the prosecution and the police demanding it now?

[Reporter]
It's hard to send an attendance request. In the case of the police, since it happened today, didn't you set up a joint investigation headquarters if you explained it first? The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the Ministry of National Defense, and the police. I went to deliver the attendance request today. I went to the presidential office first and went to the official residence, but both failed. However, the police judge that it was delivered because there was a special registration. The date for the summons was 10 a.m. on the 18th. the head of a charge against He said it was an abuse of authority. First of all, the police notified me like this. It was known over the weekend that the prosecution notified the summons first. It was notified on the 11th. I notified him on the 11th and notified him to attend by 10 a.m. on the 15th, but he didn't come out yesterday, so the prosecution disclosed this. The prosecution sent an official letter to the president's office and sent a request for attendance by mail to confirm the service. It has not been confirmed, but it has been reported that President Yoon Suk Yeol at the time did not come out on the grounds that the defense team had not yet been established. It is said that the second summons was notified today. It hasn't been confirmed yet when I notified it today and wrote it down to come out. I think he told me to come out within this week. I think I can ask you this because the lawyers said they would reveal their position.

[Anchor]
I think Yoon's lawyers will talk officially and publicly because his duties have been suspended.

[Reporter]
I think we should have a question. There should be questions from reporters.

[Anchor]
The entrance is not coming out right now.

[Anchor]
But even before the police asked the president to attend, they told the media that they would ask him to attend. So the whole process was broadcast live, isn't this quite unusual?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
In the end, it seems that two points were considered in conclusion rather than the attendance request itself. Being the head of a civil war is actually a crime that is foreshadowed by a court sentence that is more powerful than any other crime in Korea. That's why there are parts that need to be investigated quickly, then secured evidence, and blocked from destroying evidence. The second seems to be to meet the requirements for issuing arrest warrants in the end. In the case of an arrest warrant, if you refuse to comply with the summons or there is a risk of not responding to the summons, you ask the judiciary to issue it. In that regard, we are continuing to issue official summons notices, and we are now creating some justification that we are likely to refuse to comply with them.

[Anchor]
The impeachment bill was passed, but the security level is the same.

[Kim Sung Hoon]
The security level is the same. However, in this regard, I think that's why the direction was toward the arrest warrant rather than the emergency arrest discussed at first.

[Anchor]
If an arrest warrant is requested and an arrest warrant is issued, an emergency arrest is possible, right?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
To be precise, an emergency arrest refers to an arrest without a warrant. Getting an arrest warrant is an arrest by an arrest warrant. Therefore, in the case of an emergency arrest, it is said that it is an emergency arrest to arrest immediately when the investigative agency arbitrarily judges that there is an urgent need for arrest. An arrest warrant is a personal arrest after receiving a court warrant. In that sense, to answer the question you just mentioned, the judiciary has examined human restraint and issued a warrant, but refuses to execute the warrant, so this is basically an obstruction of justice. In itself, I think it is difficult to refuse even if it is the Presidential Security Service to arrest people after obtaining a warrant from the judiciary.

[Anchor]
Do you think there's a possibility of an emergency arrest? How can the police...

[Reporter]
I think that possibility has already disappeared. I asked for attendance several times.

[Anchor]
So we're gonna end up applying for an arrest warrant?

[Reporter]
I think I need to look at the application itself. The reason is that we're going to ask for more attendance. And if the president comes out, there's no need to arrest him. And I think the defense team's announcement of its position at this point is to clarify its position on it as the investigation speeds up.

[Anchor]
What was the case in the past? In the case of former President Park Geun Hye.

[Kim Sung Hoon]
The arrest of a sitting president itself has rarely been discussed like this. However, as I said, the contents of the investigation of the allegations applied at that time and the allegations now are completely different. In that regard, whether there is a concern about the destruction of major evidence now is also a very important factor in the need for arrest. In that regard, each commander or commander has now testified that he has been instructed to bring down the lawmaker and arrest the lawmaker, but the person who gave the order clearly denies his position, specifically, that he never did.

[Anchor]
I'll tell you the news that just came in. We previously told you that the chief judge is the principle of non-disclosure. Just a moment ago, news broke that Constitutional Judge Chung Hyung-sik was decided as the chief judge of the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Justice Jeong Hyeong-sik is a justice appointed by President Yoon Suk Yeol. Constitutional Judge Chung Hyung-sik will be the referee. Originally, it's a non-disclosure principle. In the case of former President Park Geun Hye, it was disclosed because of the people's right to know. Is the chief judge decided by electronic lottery?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
It's randomly assigned electronically. In that regard, it can be said that the judge was in charge of the random outcome.

[Anchor]
It's said that it's a rule to keep it private. It's been revealed. Judge Jeong Hyeong-sik will be in charge of the chief judge. I'll ask the Youngsoo Kim reporter about the investigation. a mutual intelligence commander

[Reporter]
I'm the current intelligence commander. Former intelligence commander Roh Sang-won and two others were arrested together.

[Anchor]
However, the prosecution has not approved the arrest of Moon Sang-ho, the current intelligence commander. What is the prosecution's position and what is the police's position?

[Reporter]
First of all, if you look at the prosecution's position revealed by the police, the police said they heard that the jurisdiction was in the military court as the prosecution disapproved. That's why it's because I'm an incumbent soldier. However, in the case of the police, they said they have the right to investigate active-duty soldiers and that they can also investigate rebellion.

[Anchor]
The police are immediately protesting against the approval of such an emergency arrest. How should I arrange my position?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
In summary, jurisdiction and investigative power are completely separate issues. It can be said that jurisdiction is about jurisdiction. In that sense, the logic that the prosecution has talked about now is actually a little incomprehensible. To be precise, it is correct to express that the police who are B cannot do it because the agency A has the right to investigate active-duty soldiers, and it is a little unusual to say that the police do not have the right to arrest them for reasons of jurisdiction. I told you earlier that an emergency arrest is an unwarranted arrest. In other words, there is an additional requirement for this: the urgency of arrest. For example, if you are a red-handed offender or if you need to urgently arrest this person, as if you accidentally found a criminal, you are called an emergency arrest. In that regard, basically, it's a very unusual case to reject the emergency arrest itself on the grounds of jurisdiction, and even release a person.

[Anchor]
Then how do you think it'll be organized?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
It seems that I will apply for this part once again. On the contrary, I don't think the prosecution can rule out the possibility of an emergency arrest or such in relation to this part.

[Anchor]
Can this also be seen as a result of competition between the prosecution and the police?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
I don't predict the intention carelessly, but in this case, I think there is a little bit of that in a way.

[Anchor] The prosecution, the police, and in a way, the investigation into the head of the
Army seems to be a little competitive. Are most of the prosecutors securing recruits for the core leadership right now?

[Reporter]
First of all, in the case of the prosecution, about two prosecutors from the military prosecution are dispatched to investigate, so it will be easy to obtain a search warrant or secure evidence there. So, from the beginning, he arrested the Minister of Defense, arrested the former counterintelligence commander Yeo In-hyeong, and focused a lot on military-related investigations. However, in the case of the police, the head of the police was arrested first. And now...

[Anchor]
The head of the police and the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government have all been arrested.

[Reporter]
And we are investigating the State Council members as a reference, and today, we are summoning former Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min. From the police's point of view, the allegation that this is a civil war has been conducted mainly by the military, so we need to expand the direction of the investigation toward the military, but I think it will be a little frustrating.

[Anchor]
That's why the National Police Agency is now under the arrest of Police Commissioner Jo Ji-ho, Seoul Police Commissioner Kim Bong-sik, and has arrested Commander Moon Sang-ho and former Intelligence Commander Roh Sang-won, right?

[Reporter]
The Ministry of National Defense's investigation headquarters is also set up in a place called the police headquarters. You can look at it as a police officer in the Ministry of Defense. So, it is divided into a prosecution organization and a police organization.

[Anchor]
There are separate prosecution organizations and police organizations within the Ministry of National Defense. I've summarized the investigation. There is also a controversy over the scope of acting authority Han Deok-soo's exercise of authority, so let's summarize the veto. The deadline for vetoing six bills that the opposition party has handled alone, including the Grain Act, is approaching. First of all, is there no legal problem with the exercise of the authority's veto?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
The law does not clearly stipulate the authority to exercise the agency. Since he is literally an acting authority, it can be said that he is acting on behalf of his position and authority as a constitutional guardian in this regard. However, in this regard, there is a consensus that active exercise of presidential power is not desirable because the basic position does not have the authority to actively have democratic procedural and political legitimacy. However, there is a part of the Armed Forces' leadership that it can exercise its authority on its own for important authority or acts that are clearly contrary to the Constitution. It can be seen that the more important theory is that it should be passively limited to maintaining the status quo.

[Anchor]
However, there are both the Special Prosecutor's Act, the General Special Prosecutor's Act, and the Permanent Special Prosecutor's Act related to civil war. How do you view the veto of the independent counsel law or the general independent counsel law against civil war?

[Reporter]
It's a little difficult for me to answer the veto here because it's a political issue.

[Anchor]
Will lawyer Kim Sung-hoon answer for you?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
First of all, I don't know what discretion I'm going to exercise on that matter, but basically, the veto itself is a rejection based on the president's authority over the power of Congress. And if you look at the actual precedent, there is a precedent in which former acting authority Goh Kun vetoed a bill that requires the president's right to pardon under the Constitution to obtain the consent of the National Assembly. However, in the case of this bill, there was a clear contradiction to the prestigious regulations in the Constitution, so it can be seen that it is a little different. Basically, there may be criticism that the exercise of the right to veto legislation, which should be actively and limitedly exercised by the National Assembly, is beyond the scope of constitutional responsibilities and powers.

[Anchor]
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is somewhat related to the Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act.

[Kim Sung Hoon]
That's right. In that regard, I think the possibility of vetoing that part is low. Basically, the veto power is in conflict with the authority as the head of the administration and the legislature, so I think acting authority Han Deok-soo, who has to deal with it now, will not actively exercise the veto power.

[Anchor]
In the end, during the impeachment trial of the former president, that is, during the impeachment trial of former President Roh Moo Hyun or President Park Geun Hye. During the Roh Moo Hyun presidency, Prime Minister Goh Kun served as acting president, and during the Park Geun Hye presidency, then Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn served as acting president. Did you exercise any events related to the appointment of a Supreme Court justice or a ministerial level?

[Kim Sung Hoon]
I have never actively exercised the president's right to appoint and dismiss. I've never done that. And I think it's more of a central opinion that it's not appropriate. However, there is a precedent for the appointment of the Supreme Court justice, who has the authority to recommend to the National Assembly, by acting Hwang Kyo-ahn. So, this time again, the issue is that the Constitutional Court judges may exercise their appointment authority in accordance with past precedents for requesting appointments by the National Assembly.

[Anchor]
I see. I've pointed out a lot of things today. We looked at the procedures and contents related to the constitutional trial, and we looked at the investigation into martial law and the authority of the acting prime minister. So far, I've pointed it out with YTN Youngsoo Kim reporter and lawyer Kim Sung-hoon. Thank you very much. Thank you.