Seoul High Court Chief Judge Kim Dae-woong stated regarding the suspension of trials for President Lee Jae-myung that it was "based on a constitutional provision," maintaining that it is not illegal.

Chief Judge Kim made the remark on the 16th during a parliamentary audit of the Seoul High Court and other courts by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, in response to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu asking, "Can't the judiciary's actions be seen as dereliction of duty or abuse of litigation command?"

"As far as I know, the trials have been suspended based on Article 84 of the Constitution," Chief Judge Kim said.

Article 84 of the Constitution stipulates that "The President shall not be charged with a criminal offense during their tenure of office except for insurrection or treason."

On this day, lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a war of words over the validity of the respective judicial panels suspending President Lee's criminal trials.

Lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu pointed out, "There is no system for trial suspension, yet the remand trial for President Lee's violation of the Public Official Election Act has been suspended," adding, "Since Article 84 does not provide grounds to declare a trial suspension, they are using expedient methods to designate dates indefinitely (postponing hearings indefinitely)."

On the other hand, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Han-gyu asked, "The court did not declare a suspension but instead chose the method of postponing the hearing indefinitely; is this illegal?" and questioned whether a new trial suspension system needs to be created.

Chief Judge Kim stated, "In my view, I don't think a crime has been established," and added, "I think they utilized a method available under the current system."

In response to a subsequent question asking whether he has any intention to resume President Lee's trials, he said, "A court chief cannot and does not interfere in trials," and added, "I respect the decisions made by the individual trial panels and believe it is a matter for each panel to decide."

Previously, following President Lee's inauguration, the trial panels handling five cases involving President Lee—including the remand trial for the Public Official Election Act, the Daejang-dong development scandal trial, and the Ssangbangwool illegal remittance to North Korea trial—indefinitely postponed the hearing dates based on Article 84 of the Constitution.

(Photo: Yonhap News)