Pleading Held for Petition by President
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
A hearing was held Thursday at the Constitutional Court for a plenary review on a petition by President Roh Moo-hyun. It was the first hearing on the petition from the nation's president.
The historical debate came as the presidential office filed the petition in June against the ruling by the National Election Commission (NEC) that Roh violated the Election Law.
Among the representatives for the both sides are two law professors from Kyung Hee University _ Chung Tae-ho for Roh and Noh Dong-il for the commission
They fiercely argued whether the petition would be rejected and sent for a plenary review if Roh actually violated the law. They also argued whether the ruling by the commission violated the basic rights of Roh.
The commission cited Article 9 of the Civil Servants Law, which bans public officials from being engaged in political activities influencing elections. But Roh's side emphasized the aspect of ``citizen Roh Moo-hyun,'' not ``President Roh Moo-hyun'' in his remarks that allegedly violated the election law.
In June, Roh openly criticized members of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP).
He mentioned ``a daughter of a dictator'' to refer to Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman of GNP. He also said, ``It is horrible even to think about the opposition party winning the election.''
Roh even criticized the election watchdog on the grounds it blocked him from conducting state affairs normally and that the election law is unconstitutional.
Following the hearing, three justices will decide if they will reject the petition.
If they accept the petition, nine judges including the three will conduct a plenary review to decide between ``overruling or accepting.'' But the verdict may have no effect on the Dec. 19 presidential election as it could come out after it, as there is no mandatory time limit.