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Impeachment motions filed against BAI chief, senior Seoul prosecutors
Impeachment motions against Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chair Choe Jae-hae and Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office Chief Lee Chang-soo were passed in a Democratic Party (DP)-controlled National Assembly plenary session Thursday.
Choe and Lee will be suspended from their duties until a Constitutional Court decision. Impeachment motions against two other prosecutors of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office — Cho Sang-won and Choi Jae-hun — were also passed.
The National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Choe with 188 votes in favor and four votes against out of 192 members present. Regarding Lee, the vote was 185 in favor, three against and four invalid.
This marks the first time the National Assembly has impeached a BAI chair.
Members of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the plenary session to express their opposition to the impeachment motions.
The DP initially planned to focus on the aftermath of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of emergency martial law this week and postpone the impeachment of Choe and Lee, but after the PPP decided to oppose the impeachment of Yoon, the DP changed its focus.
The DP cited a denial of independence in Choe’s official duties, the carrying out of targeted audits, violation of his duties as the chair of the BAI and refusal to submit materials to the National Assembly as the grounds for impeachment.
The DP in its impeachment accused Choe of refusing to submit meeting minutes and documents related to the relocation of the presidential office and official residence in 2022, and that he continued to refuse to submit documents during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s on-site audit on Oct. 24 this year.
“In addition, the accused interfered with the work of the BAI staff under this command to prepare or submit data, thereby restricting the exercise of their rights,” said the DP. “Such acts violate laws such as the National Assembly Act and the Testimony and Appraisal Act.”
Regarding the impeachment of three prosecutors including Lee, the reason for impeachment was stated to be that they did not properly investigate the suspicions against first lady Kim Keon Hee on the alleged stock price manipulation of Deutsch Motors.
With the passing of the impeachment motions in the National Assembly, Choe and the three prosecutors including Lee will be suspended from their duties until the Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial results are decided.
On Thursday, PPP lawmakers held a rally at a National Assembly hall and said that “the DP, which abuses false accusations and impeachments to vent anger, are the ones that should be impeached.”
