Court partly suspends Lee Jin-sook's exclusion from National Assembly audits
In short
South Korea's Constitutional Court on 21 October unanimously granted in part an injunction sought by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook (이진숙) against a committee vote excluding her from audits. She can take part in the 22 October comprehensive audit, but the exclusion stays for four matters, including those tied to her time as head of the Broadcasting and Communications Commission.
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The Constitutional Court on 21 October granted in part an injunction filed by People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-sook (이진숙) against the decision of the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee (과방위) to exclude her from audits. The decision was unanimous. Lee can now take part in the committee's comprehensive audit on 22 October, and the suspension runs until the court concludes the main competence dispute (권한쟁의심판), Chosun Ilbo and Korea Economic Daily reported. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 ]
The court said that when a lawmaker's audit is halted, exclusion can only be decided for matters in which the lawmaker has a direct interest or there is a clear reason impartiality cannot be kept, and that grounds for exclusion do not allow audits to be restricted comprehensively. It said it was unclear whether grounds for exclusion were recognised for the rest of the audits. It added that if Lee could not take part in audits of many broadcasting-related bodies, she would suffer serious damage that is hard to recover, according to Chosun Ilbo. [ 3 , 12 ]
The exclusion stays for four matters, which the court said had considerable room to be recognised as grounds. Chosun Ilbo listed them as the operation of institutions in which Lee was involved as head of the Broadcasting and Communications Commission (방통위); the "two-member" decisions on a KBS board recommendation, a Bangmunjin (방송문화진흥회) board appointment and consent to an EBS president; the case in which she was accused of perjury in last year's audit; and the case in which she was accused of breach of trust over corporate card use as president of Daejeon MBC. [ 3 , 33 ]
The committee voted on 12 October, led by the ruling side, to exclude Lee, citing her direct interest in matters from her time as commission head. The vote barred her from the audits of 12 and 16 October and from the comprehensive audit of 22 October. CBS NoCut News reported the vote was 12 in favour and none against. Lee and the People Power Party filed the competence dispute and injunction request with the court on 15 October. The court dismissed Lee's request on the audits of 12 and 16 October, which had ended, and the party's separate request, because a party was found to lack the standing to be a party to such a dispute. [ 3 , 5 , 21 ]
Newsis reported the court said that Lee's own restraint and the committee chair's active use of power to keep order could prevent negative effects, and that if the injunction were refused and the main case later upheld, the comprehensive limit on her audit rights could not be undone. [ 18 ]
Lee wrote on Facebook that the decision was obvious and that she would take part in the audit the next day. People Power Party committee members said in an emergency statement that the decision made clear a majority cannot limit lawmakers' powers arbitrarily. Democratic Party committee members said they respect the decision and will keep the restrictions on the matters where exclusion remains, adding that the partial suspension should not be read as a full lifting and urging Lee to refrain from taking part in those matters. [ 22 , 27 , 33 ]
Why it matters
The decision is a temporary measure until the court rules on the main competence dispute. The ruling party and the opposition read it differently, with the Democratic Party stressing the exclusions that remain and the People Power Party stressing limits on majority votes.
Key facts
- The Constitutional Court on 21 October granted in part Lee Jin-sook's injunction request against the National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee's decision to exclude her from audits, by unanimous opinion. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 18 ]
- The suspension lasts until the court reaches its conclusion in the main case, a competence dispute (권한쟁의심판). [ 3 , 5 , 18 ]
- Lee can take part in the committee's comprehensive audit on 22 October. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 12 ]
- The exclusion remains in force for four matters, including those in which she was involved as head of the Broadcasting and Communications Commission. [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 12 ]
- The committee voted on 12 October to bar her from the audits of 12 October, 16 October and 22 October. [ 3 , 5 ]
- The court dismissed her request on the audits of 12 and 16 October, which had already ended, and a separate request by the People Power Party. [ 3 , 6 , 8 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Constitutional Court partly granted Lee Jin-sook's injunction on 21 October by unanimous decision. [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 18 ]
- Lee can take part in the 22 October comprehensive audit, but exclusion is kept for four matters tied to her time as head of the Broadcasting and Communications Commission and to complaints filed against her. [ 3 , 6 , 8 , 12 , 33 ]
- The court dismissed the application on audits that had already ended and the People Power Party's own application. [ 3 , 6 , 8 ]
- Lee said she would take part in the audit. Democratic Party committee members said they respect the decision but that it is not a full lifting of the exclusion. [ 22 , 27 , 30 , 33 ]
Still unclear
- Whether grounds for exclusion exist beyond the four matters. The court said it was unclear whether such grounds were recognised for the rest, which is why it suspended the decision for that part only (doc 3).
- How the limits on the four matters will work at the 22 October audit. Documents 13 and 19 say she is barred from speaking on matters directly concerning her, while doc 18 quotes the court as saying her own restraint and the committee chair's order-keeping could prevent negative effects. No document reports how the audit went.
- Whether this is the first court ruling on a lawmaker's audit suspension. Only Kyunghyang Shinmun (doc 8) says it is the first, and that the court ruled about six days after the 15 October filing.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Newsis and Yonhap flashed the Constitutional Court's partial grant of the injunction. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Newsis reported the court's reasoning and the matters for which the exclusion was kept. [ 18 ]
- Newsis reported Lee calling the ruling an obvious decision on Facebook and saying she would take part in the audit the next day. [ 22 ]
- Democratic Party members of the committee issued a statement saying they respect the decision but that it is not a full lifting of the exclusion. [ 27 ]