By Jung Min-ho
With the National Assembly likely to vote for the impeachment of scandal-ridden President Park Geun-hye, Friday, questions about what will happen afterwards are now starting to emerge.
In fact, passing an impeachment motion is not the end of the long process that could take months; rather, it is only the beginning. Some people have been asking whether she will still be allowed to resign at any point in the process and, if she does, whether the Constitutional Court will still give its verdict on the person who is no longer president.
Most experts, including former Constitutional Court justices Kim Jong-dae and Roh Hee-bum, believe a president can still step down even after the National Assembly passes an impeachment motion. Although the parliamentary law (Article 134, Section 2) says a person who has the power to appoint must not accept the resignation of the appointees being prosecuted, they believe the post of president, who is appointed by no one but voted in by the people, is an exception to the law.
“The resignation of a president, which is a constitutional matter, should not be judged by any other laws,” Kim recently told the Kookmin Ilbo, a local daily.
Many experts, including Korea University Law School professor Jang Young-soo, also believe that even if a president resigns during the process, the Constitutional Court can continue its review of the case to make a decision.
While voluntary resignation allows former presidents to receive many privileges, including a pension, security service protection and more, an impeached president cannot receive these privileges except for protection on limited occasions. This is one of the reasons why the Constitutional Court’s final decision matters.
If more than two-thirds of the National Assembly members conclude that the withdrawal of an impeachment motion will be more effective in removing a president, many experts believe they can do so, though the likelihood of such a scenario is very low.
Another key question is whether the passing of the impeachment motion will make it easier to investigate President Park over the influence-peddling scandal, including forcing her to be questioned.
The President has been accused of playing a key role in “donations” major companies made to her confidant Choi Soon-sil. But when she refused to be questioned, the prosecution did not push to request an arrest warrant. This was because a sitting President is immune from criminal prosecution.
As to why the Constitution prevents it, experts say one of the most important reasons is a long, complicated prosecution process that could bother critical responsibilities the President has in running state affairs.
However, as Ajou University Law School professor Lee Heon-hwan noted, if the Assembly passes an impeachment motion, President Park’s duties will be suspended until a ruling from the Constitutional Court is given. This means she will lose the legal basis to refuse to be questioned in the meantime.
But not all experts agree on this. Some believe a local court is unlikely to issue a detention warrant for the President who cannot be indicted until her presidency ends.