Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, publicly questioned the Constitutional Court on the 10th regarding five legal issues, including the delay of the impeachment trial against acting President Han Duck-soo. This shows a renewed pressure on the Constitutional Court ahead of the resumption of the arguments related to the appointment freeze of Ma Eun-hyuk, the candidate for Constitutional Court justice, by acting Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok.
Kwon stated at the emergency response committee meeting that morning, "This afternoon, the Constitutional Court is expected to resume the arguments regarding the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk as a candidate for Constitutional Court justice," and added, "Before the resumption of the arguments, I am publicly questioning the Constitutional Court with five questions."
He criticized, "What is the legal basis for ignoring the 'conflict of authority trial' regarding the decision threshold for the impeachment of Han Duck-soo and only conducting the 'conflict of authority trial' related to candidate Ma Eun-hyuk? The cause-and-effect relationship is that the impeachment of acting President Han Duck-soo has led to the appointment freeze of the acting Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, so what is the purpose and basis for prioritizing the discussion of the appointment freeze of acting Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok?"
Kwon also said, "The essence of the claim regarding the 'conflict of authority trial' for the impeachment decision threshold of Han is that the impeachment motion itself has serious procedural defects and is invalid. Is it not illegal to proceed with the hearing and argument dates concerning the impeachment of Han without concluding whether the impeachment motion itself is valid or invalid?"
He emphasized, "The key issue of the conflict of authority trial for the impeachment of Han is that National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik arbitrarily judged that the decision threshold for impeachment was 151 seats," and questioned, "Isn't it that the Constitutional Court is tolerating Speaker Woo's unilateral decision, which has allowed him to once again falsely claim the National Assembly to file a conflict of authority trial?"
Kwon further questioned, "Acting Minister Moon Hyung-bae mentioned in the last argument of the conflict of authority trial with the National Election Commission and the Board of Audit and Inspection on January 15, 'We will issue a ruling with an eight-member system.' What is the reason for proceeding with the conflict of authority trial regarding the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk without keeping that promise?"
He added, "I hope the Constitutional Court properly responds to the five public questions I raised," and underscored, "Before considering the fact of 'bipartisan agreement' regarding the appointment of Ma Eun-hyuk, the Constitutional Court should first conclude on the decision threshold for the impeachment of Han Duck-soo and reach a conclusion regarding Speaker Woo Won-sik's unilateral interpretation of National Assembly laws."
He stated, "While the bipartisan agreement is a 'political issue,' the impeachment decision threshold and the authority of the National Assembly Speaker are 'legal issues,'" and pointed out, "If the Constitutional Court judges political issues first instead of properly addressing legal issues, it will be hard to avoid the stigma of being called a 'political court.'"
Earlier, Speaker Woo Won-sik's side submitted official documents bearing the seal of the People Power Party as evidence to the Constitutional Court, stating that the People Power Party also agreed to hold a confirmation hearing for candidate Ma. As a result, the bipartisan agreement regarding the appointment of Ma has become a contentious issue.