Parliamentary hearing for impeachment motion against prosecutor set for next month

Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party protest a motion to hold a hearing next month regarding the impeachment of Kim Young-cheol, a senior prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office, during a plenary session of the legislation and judiciary committee at the National Assembly in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, July 31. Yonhap

A parliamentary committee decided Wednesday to hold a hearing next month over the impeachment of a prosecutor related to first lady Kim Keon Hee's alleged stock manipulation scheme.

The legislation and judiciary committee adopted the plan to hold the hearing for Kim Young-cheol, a senior prosecutor of the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors Office, on Aug. 14.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) passed the motion unilaterally during the committee's plenary meeting as lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) did not participate in the vote in protest of the motion.

The committee summoned twenty witnesses, including the first lady and Prosecutor General Lee One-Seok, to testify at the hearing.

Opposition parties claim Kim had failed to properly investigate allegations behind the first lady's involvement in a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in South Korea.

The DPK has been seeking to impeach Kim and three other prosecutors that led investigations into various corruption allegations against former party leader Lee Jae-myung, including a scandal involving underwear manufacturer Ssangbangwool Group's alleged illegal remittance to North Korea, as well as bribery and other charges from his tenure as the mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, from 2014 to 2018. (Yonhap)