The Constitutional Court decided to dismiss the impeachment motion against three prosecutors, including Lee Chang-soo, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, due to the reason that they did not investigate properly regarding the “Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation case” related to First Lady Kim Gun-hee.
On the 13th, the Constitutional Court announced its ruling on the impeachment motion against Lee Chang-soo, Jo Sang-won, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutors’ Office, and Choi Jae-hoon, head of the anti-corruption division in the Central District Prosecutors’ Office.
The Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment motion against these individuals. The effect of the Constitutional Court’s decision takes place immediately.
Previously, the National Assembly impeached them for failing to properly investigate the “Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation case” and making false statements during a press briefing.
On October 17th last year, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office dismissed the case against First Lady Kim Gun-hee in the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation case after a lengthy briefing that lasted four hours. Choi Jae-hoon, head of the anti-corruption investigation division in the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, explained the reasons for the dismissal for about an hour and subsequently held a Q&A session with reporters.
One reporter asked, “Was there a warrant request for a search (of Kim Gun-hee)?” to which Deputy Chief Prosecutor Choi responded, “We requested search warrants for her residence, office, and mobile phone, but they were all denied at that time.”
Subsequently, it was revealed that this information was not accurate. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office released an official clarification stating, “There was merely a misunderstanding; we never made false briefings,” but the controversy continued, leading to impeachment by the National Assembly.
The Constitutional Court conducted two hearings, including questioning of the three prosecutors, and concluded the proceedings on the 24th of last month.
In his final statement, Lee Chang-soo stated, “While respecting the opinions of the investigation team, I ultimately took responsibility as the Chief Prosecutor to meticulously verify and handle the case based on evidence and legal principles,” denying the reasons for impeachment. Other prosecutors also echoed this stance.
On the other hand, the National Assembly argued that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office presented some factually incorrect information during the press briefing and that the decision not to charge Kim Gun-hee was unjust, asserting violations of the Constitution and laws.
After compiling the opinions of both sides and all evidence, the Constitutional Court ultimately concluded, “We cannot conclude that the prosecution falsely announced the Deutsche Motors incident,” thus deciding to dismiss the impeachment motion.
Image Sources: News1
