Supreme Prosecutors Office opposes DP’s push to impeach prosecutors

SEOUL, Nov. 28 (Yonhap) — The Supreme Prosecutors Office (SPO) issued a statement Thursday opposing the move by the Democratic Party (DP) to impeach three top prosecutors at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office next week.

The main opposition party plans to pass a motion to impeach Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, and two of his deputies in a National Assembly vote next Wednesday, accusing them of failing to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee despite allegations of her stock price manipulation.

The SPO made clear its opposition to the DP’s planned impeachment of the prosecutors in the statement.

“The impeachment system, which is a significant authority granted to the National Assembly under the mission of protecting the Constitution, should not be abused for the political purposes of the majority party,” the statement said.

It went on to say that the planned impeachment cannot be justified and will only cause a significant vacuum in the prosecution’s criminal justice function. It then emphasized the prosecution’s determination to handle all cases unwaveringly and solely in accordance with the law and principles without yielding to undue outside pressure.

Earlier this week, 33 senior prosecutors under Lee posted a joint statement on the internal network of the prosecution to criticize the DP’s push for the impeachment of the three prosecutors.