{"id":2207672,"date":"2024-12-26T13:43:48","date_gmt":"2024-12-26T04:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2207672"},"modified":"2024-12-27T15:21:04","modified_gmt":"2024-12-27T06:21:04","slug":"cheong-hyung-sik-takes-center-stage-as-lead-justice-in-yoons-impeachment-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/12\/cheong-hyung-sik-takes-center-stage-as-lead-justice-in-yoons-impeachment-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheong Hyung-sik takes center stage as lead justice in Yoon\u2019s impeachment trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Justice Cheong Hyung-sik faces the most consequential challenge of his judicial career after being selected to lead South Korea\u2019s Constitutional Court in President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s impeachment trial.<\/p>\n

His designation by a random, computerized draw places him in the unprecedented position of overseeing a case that could determine the fate of the president who appointed him.<\/p>\n

Cheong\u2019s selection has heightened scrutiny of the six-member bench, which must rule on Yoon\u2019s Dec. 3 martial law declaration with three vacant seats \u2014 a rare and high-stakes scenario. As Yoon\u2019s sole court appointee, Cheong\u2019s impartiality is under intense examination in a trial that could shape South Korea\u2019s democratic trajectory.<\/p>\n

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appoints Cheong Hyung-sik to serve as a justice in the Constitutional Court, Dec. 18, 2023 | Image: ROK Presidential Office<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

FROM DISTRICT COURT TO CONSTITUTIONAL BENCH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cheong\u2019s judicial career spans over three decades, marked by steady ascension through South Korea\u2019s courts. After graduating from Seoul National University\u2019s law school and passing the bar in 1985, he began working as a judge at the Suwon District Court\u2019s Seongnam branch in 1988.<\/p>\n

His early years included postings at the Seoul Family Court and the Seoul Civil District Court, where he handled a mix of civil and family law cases.<\/p>\n

He later served as a Supreme Court research judge in 2001, focusing on corporate and administrative law. Cheong\u2019s judicial ascent included roles as chief judge at various district courts and later as a high court judge, overseeing criminal and civil cases.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Cheong was named chief judge of the Seoul Bankruptcy Court. After a stint at the Suwon High Court, he was appointed chief judge of the Daejeon High Court in 2023, just months before his nomination to the Constitutional Court by Yoon.<\/p>\n

His appointment was not without controversy. Opposition lawmakers raised questions during his confirmation hearings about his role in granting Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong a suspended sentence in a landmark corruption case and about his family\u2019s connections to influential figures in the Yoon administration.<\/p>\n

Despite the opposition\u2019s objections, the National Assembly adopted his confirmation hearing report in late 2023, albeit with dissenting opinions labeling him \u201cunqualified.\u201d Cheong dismissed these criticisms, pledging to uphold constitutional principles even if it meant scrutinizing presidential decisions.<\/p>\n

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Samsung Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group CEO Chung Eui-sun and LG Chair Koo Kwang-mo meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during the 172nd BIE General Assembly in Paris, June 21, 2023 | Image: ROK Presidential Office<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

A JUDICIAL RECORD SHAPED BY LANDMARK RULINGS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cheong\u2019s legal career has been defined by a series of rulings that have attracted both praise and criticism. His most notable decision came in 2018 when he granted Samsung\u2019s Lee Jae-yong a suspended sentence in a corruption case tied to former President Park Geun-hye.<\/p>\n

A lower court had initially handed Lee a five-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n

While critics labeled the decision overly lenient, Cheong defended his ruling by characterizing Lee as a victim of the Park administration\u2019s coercion, a stance he defended during his confirmation hearings.<\/p>\n

The Seoul High Court eventually handed Lee a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence in 2021 after the Supreme Court overturned Cheong\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

Earlier, in 2013, Cheong convicted former Prime Minister Han Myung-sook of accepting illegal political funds, sentencing her to two years in prison. Progressives decried this decision as politically motivated, but the Supreme Court upheld Cheong\u2019s ruling two years later.<\/p>\n

However, Cheong has also demonstrated judicial independence, as seen in his 2009 ruling to reinstate dismissed the president of South Korea\u2019s national public broadcaster KBS, Jung Yun-joo, over procedural flaws \u2014 a decision that challenged the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n

Lee dismissed Jung in 2008 for alleged mismanagement, including claims of financial losses stemming from a tax settlement. However, Cheong found the dismissal to be procedurally flawed, as the Broadcasting Act at the time did not explicitly grant the president the authority to dismiss the KBS president, making the action an overreach of presidential power.<\/p>\n

Cheong has also not shied away from addressing historical injustices. In 2013, he granted a retrial and acquitted progressive activist Cho Hee-yeon, who had been convicted in 1978 under the Park Chung-hee regime\u2019s Emergency Measure No. 9.<\/p>\n

At the time, Cho was sentenced to two years in prison for distributing leaflets calling for the abolition of the Yushin Constitution, which consolidated Park\u2019s authoritarian rule. Emergency Measure No. 9, enacted in 1975, banned criticism of the government and the constitution, imposing severe penalties for dissent and curbing fundamental freedoms.<\/p>\n

Cheong\u2019s ruling, delivered 34 years after Cho\u2019s conviction and following the Constitutional Court\u2019s 2013 decision declaring Emergency Measure No. 9 unconstitutional, demonstrated his commitment to addressing historical injustices when clear legal grounds were present.<\/p>\n

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Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Moon Hyung-bae (far left) and Cheong Hyung-sik (far right), Dec. 10, 2024 | Image: ROK Constitutional Court<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

QUESTIONS OF IMPARTIALITY AMID HIGH STAKES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cheong\u2019s appointment to lead the impeachment trial has reignited debates over judicial independence, with critics pointing to his family connections and past rulings as potential conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

Notably, Yoon appointed Park Sun-young \u2014 Cheong\u2019s sister-in-law \u2014 to head the Truth and Reconciliation Commission three days after he declared martial law.<\/p>\n

The commission is an independent governmental body established to investigate and address historical injustices, human rights abuses and state violence \u2014 particularly from the Japanese colonial period through the authoritarian regimes of the latter half of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Yoon\u2019s appointment of Park has sparked significant controversy. Critics argue that Park\u2019s public statements defending Yoon\u2019s martial law declaration and praising past authoritarian regimes conflict with the commission\u2019s goal of addressing the abuses of those very regimes\u200b\u200b.\u200b<\/p>\n

Moreover, Park\u2019s comments and ideological stance have amplified concerns about Cheong\u2019s impartiality.<\/p>\n

Opposition lawmakers have also highlighted his financial contributions to conservative organizations, including a North Korean defector support group led by Park. Cheong has defended these as humanitarian in nature.<\/p>\n

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Six justices on the Constitutional Court bench, Nov. 12, 2024 | Image: ROK Constitutional Court<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

CONSERVATIVE JURIST<\/strong><\/p>\n

Various legal experts have noted that Cheong\u2019s judicial decisions often align with a traditional conservative philosophy focused on institutional stability and procedural regularity, rather than overt political allegiance.<\/p>\n

Cheong\u2019s perspective on contentious issues was further highlighted during his Dec. 2023 confirmation process, where he expressed support for the eventual abolition of the death penalty.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, he also upheld the constitutionality of requiring conscientious objectors to serve 36 months in alternative service \u2014 double the length of regular active-duty military service. The majority opinion emphasized that the provisions aim to ensure fairness in fulfilling military obligations while safeguarding national security and citizens\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

The Constitutional Court concluded that the requirement does not infringe upon freedom of conscience or religion, nor does it violate the principle of equality when compared to social service workers.<\/p>\n

LEAD JUSTICE\u2019S LIMITED ROLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the heightened attention on Cheong\u2019s designation as lead justice, Constitutional Court officials have stressed that this role carries limited influence over the trial\u2019s final outcome.<\/p>\n

Unlike Supreme Court cases, where lead justices can steer rulings, Constitutional Court decisions \u2014 particularly impeachment trials \u2014 require extensive deliberation among all justices.<\/p>\n

As lead justice, Cheong\u2019s primary role will be that of a moderator, with the trial\u2019s direction and outcome hinging more on consensus-building than on his individual views. Under the Constitutional Court Act, at least six of the nine justices must vote to uphold an impeachment for it to succeed.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has nominated two candidates for the opposition-allocated seats on the Constitutional Court. However, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) this week boycotted the confirmation hearings, arguing that Acting President Han Duck-soo lacks the authority to appoint justices before the impeachment trial\u2019s resolution.<\/p>\n

The PPP seeks to limit the impeachment trial to the current six-member bench rather than a full panel of nine justices, aiming to increase the chances of Yoon\u2019s reinstatement. With only six justices, a single vote against impeachment would be enough to block the required majority.<\/p>\n

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Cheong Hyung-sik delivers his inaugural address as he begins his service as a justice of the Constitutional Court, Dec. 19, 2023 | Image: ROK Constitutional Court<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

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BIO: CHEONG HYUNG-SIK (\uc815\ud615\uc2dd, \u912d\u4ea8\u690d)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Age:<\/strong> 63, born in Yanggu, Gangwon Province<\/p>\n

Family:<\/strong> Brother-in-law of former Supreme Court Justice Min Il-young and Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chairperson Park Sun-young<\/p>\n

Education: <\/strong>Bachelor of law, Seoul National University<\/p>\n

Career:<\/strong><\/p>\n