The Constitutional Court concluded the hearing on the impeachment trial of three prosecutors, including Lee Chang-su, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Cho Sang-won, the 4th Deputy Prosecutor General, and Choi Jae-hoon, head of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2, on the 24th. The date for the ruling on the impeachment will be decided later.
Earlier, the National Assembly impeached Lee Chang-su and two others, claiming they did not properly investigate the allegations of stock manipulation involving Deutsche Motors linked to Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol.
During the hearing, the National Assembly pointed out several issues: ▲Providing convenience by not summoning Kim Keon-hee to the prosecution office and conducting a closed-door investigation at the residence of the National Security Office ▲Creating a 'Red Team' internally for a non-prosecution disposition without holding a prosecution review committee ▲Making false statements during a press conference and a parliamentary audit after the non-prosecution decision.
In response, Lee Chang-su said, "It is an abuse of the prosecution power for the National Assembly to exercise its impeachment rights just because it is dissatisfied with results that were handled according to evidence and legal principles," adding, "I hope the Constitutional Court makes a prompt and wise decision so that I can work faithfully in accordance with the law and principles."
When asked by a National Assembly representative why they conducted an investigation into Kim Keon-hee, Director General Choi Jae-hoon stated, "When I discussed this with the lawyer, they expressed their willingness to be investigated, so I requested to negotiate the manner and timing of the investigation," and added, "I believe that conducting the investigation at the residence of the National Security Office is not an unreasonable demand regarding the spouse of the president, and if the suspect wants a closed-door summons, it is principle to do so."
When Justice Jeong Gye-seon asked, "Is there any fact that a search warrant related to Deutsche Motors was requested for Kim Keon-hee?" the Director General replied, "That's correct."
In relation to this, Vice Administrator Cho Sang-won noted, "We requested a warrant for Kobana Contents, which is run by Kim Keon-hee, and if you look at the criminal facts, it also included information related to Deutsche Motors," adding, "The facts related to Deutsche Motors were included in the search and seizure."
No Hee-beom, a lawyer representing the National Assembly, stated in the final remarks, "Despite sufficient evidence of Kim Keon-hee's involvement in the stock manipulation, the prosecutors treated her as a victim who was rather used by the stock manipulation group and decided not to prosecute," and urged, "Please exclude these prosecutors from duty to restore legal order and constitutional values."