Moon Jae-in Returns as “Shield for President Roh”

Former presidential chief secretary Moon Jae-in, who retired from the political world after he handed in his resignation on February 12, took charge of President Roh Moo-hyun’s plea at the impeachment trial of the Constitutional Court. Confronting the unprecedented impeachment case against the President, he returned to President Roh’s side after only a month.

It is reported that the former chief secretary Moon, who went on a trip to Nepal on February 12 and stayed in Bangkok, Thailand on March 12, started his journey home quickly after he heard of the passage of the impeachment motion, saying that “I must help the President in his time of need.” After meeting President Roh at Cheong Wa Dae on March 13, Moon is in charge of a chief counselor who will organize the defense counsel to lead the plea.

It was reported that the defense counsel of President Roh, who is under impeachment, will comprise seven or eight lawyers. As a fierce jurisprudential argument is expected in the process of the impeachment trial, Cheong Wa Dae intends to form a defense counsel with leading judges and lawyers armed with precise logic rather than senior judges and lawyers known for their reputation.

The plea expenses are said to be appropriated from President Roh’s private money. There is no exact provision for that matter, but they think it would be difficult to use the budget of Cheong Wa Dae.

The Presidential Chief Secretary Section is planning to support the President at the level of providing advice and suggestions, not to give a direct plea.

It is unclear whether President Roh himself will come to the court to defend himself at the impeachment trial. A close aide at Cheong Wa Dae hinted that “it would be very difficult for a staff to suggest the President’s direct presence,” and explained that “it depends entirely on the President’s will.”

Jung-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com