Public shield is not a viable option for President Yoon

According to ‘How Bad Power Collapses: The Politics of Impeachment’ recently published by Lee Cheol-hee, former senior presidential secretary for political affairs, there are three shields that prevent impeachment. Once the ruling party blocks impeachment proceedings, it becomes a ‘parliamentary shield.’ Even if the National Assembly passes the impeachment bill, if it is rejected by the Constitutional Court, which is responsible for impeachment trials, the impeachment fails due to the ‘judicial shield.’ Even if the public strongly opposes impeachment during the process, as witnessed in the case of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, impeachment is unlikely to succeed. Hence the metaphor: ‘public shield.’

The most powerful of these three would be the public shield. Even if the National Assembly hesitates to file an impeachment prosecution or the Constitutional Court considers the issue from a legal point of view, parliamentary and judicial shields can be demolished if the public is adamant about impeachment. That was the case during the impeachment of former president Park Geun-hye. The National Assembly, which had hesitated to pursue impeachment due to its history of failing to pass the impeachment of Roh, was eventually moved by the candlelight vigil that filled Gwanghwamun in the middle of winter.

Judging from President Yoon Suk Yeol's behavior for the past 10 days after the impeachment bill was passed in the National Assembly on Dec. 14, he appears determined to buy time. Contrary to his remarks “not to avoid legal responsibility,” he hides behind the security office, refusing to comply with requests to appear and not even receiving documents related to the impeachment trial. Though he appointed former Korea Communications Commission Chairman Kim Hong-il as the representative of the defense team, he did not even provide a notice on the attorney appointment. Attorney Seok Dong-hyeon, who has been a close friend of President Yoon for 40 years, reacted angrily to the criticism of 'wasting time,' claiming that “the National Assembly passed the impeachment with haste and that the President is preparing to form the best defense team." “As former public prosecutor, he intends to mobilize all of his top officials and fight the legal battle until the end,” according to an official from the opposition party. His tactic is to use the judicial shield.

Contrary to President Yoon and the ruling party’s belief that the declaration of martial law may not be constituted as the crime of treason, the ‘public shield’ does not appear to be feasible. In a survey by four public opinion polling companies, including Mbrain Public, asking 1,002 people over the age of 18 across the country from Monday to Wednesday last week to 18, 78% of respondents said that the passage of the impeachment bill against President Yoon was a “good decision,” and 73% believed that “President Yoon will be removed from office if the impeachment is approved.” 68% of respondents agreed that the ‘Constitutional Court should conclude the impeachment trial as quickly as possible.’ It would be too much to depend on the magic shield when many stayed up until late to watch the martial law declaration unfold.