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[Damwha Column 曇華風月] Constitutional Court of Korea's decision and judicial trust
Balance between legal legitimacy and public trust
By UN Journal Lee Jon-young In order to maintain a just society, the law must be operated based on fairness and trust. Dasan Jeong Yak-yong (丁若鏞, 1762-1836), a Silhak scholar of the late Joseon Dynasty who studied practical matters, wrote "Heumheumsinseo欽欽新書" and sought ways to rationally enforce criminal law and prevent unjust prison cases. This was part of efforts to improve the judicial system at the time and is considered an important guideline for fair trials. In modern society, securing fairness and trust in the judicial system is an important task, and legal measures such as the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act have been taken for this purpose. The Criminal Procedure Act, revised in 2020, stipulates that the suspect interrogation record written by the prosecutor is not accepted as evidence if the suspect denies its contents. This was a measure to strengthen the suspect's right to defense and increase the fairness of the prosecution's investigation. However, the Constitutional Court of Korea recently ruled in the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol that, unlike in criminal trials, even prosecution records denied by the parties can be accepted as evidence. This decision is considered to be in conflict with the purpose of the 2020 revision of the Criminal Procedure Act and is causing controversy. President Yoon's side criticized this as a "regressive decision" and raised the question of whether the Constitutional Court, which is an institution that must follow the Constitution, is deceiving the people and violating the Constitution. In addition, if such rulings are repeated, the people will inevitably have doubts about whether they can trust the decisions of the Constitutional Court. In particular, if a judgment lacking legal consistency is made, it could have a negative impact on the fairness and reliability of the entire judiciary. The law must develop in accordance with the needs of the times, but at the same time, it must be operated based on public trust. There are criticisms that the Constitutional Court's decision this time needs to be reexamined not only in terms of legal legitimacy but also in terms of public trust. In order for the judiciary to restore fairness and trust, rational and consistent application of the law that the public can accept is essential. The interpretation and application of the law should not vary depending on specific political situations, but should maintain universal principles and consistency in order to gain the public’s trust. The principle of fair trials emphasized by Dasan Jeong Yak-yong is still valid today. In a modern democratic society, the law should not be for the benefit of a specific group or individual, but should be a tool for the trust and realization of justice for the entire public. Deep reflection is needed on whether the recent decision of the Constitutional Court has balanced the two factors of legal legitimacy and public trust, and more careful and consistent judgment is required in the future operation of the judiciary.
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"Women still represent just one-third of the global scientific community"
UN Secretary-General's message on the Int'l Day of Women and Girls in Science
By UN Journal Kayla Lee "Ten years ago, the first International Day of Women and Girls in Science recognized a fundamental truth: women’s participation is essential for building a better world through science and technology. I saw that enormous potential firsthand when I was teaching engineering, and I saw the remarkable talent, creativity, and determination of countless women scientists," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Feb. 11. In the statement released by the United Nations, he said, "Yet today, women still represent just one-third of the global scientific community. Deprived of adequate funding, publishing opportunities and leadership positions in universities, women and girls continue to face an uphill battle in building careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). "Look no further than the development of new digital technologies. Men dominate the field at every level—including in Artificial Intelligence. The result is a surge of biased algorithms and embedded inequality, risking a new era of digital chauvinism." The more that women are excluded from STEM, the more we limit our collective power to address urgent global challenges, from climate change and food security to public health and technological transformation. We can and must do more to level the playing field. By expanding scholarships, internships and mentorship opportunities to open doors for women and girls in STEM; creating workplaces that attract, retain and advance women in science; encouraging girls’ engagement in STEM from an early age; championing women leaders in science through the media; and dismantling gender stereotypes. The Pact for the Future, agreed last September by Member States, gives renewed momentum to these goals by committing to address barriers preventing the full, equal and meaningful access for women and girls in scientific fields. UN Secretary-General added, "On the tenth anniversary of this important day, and as we reflect on 30 years since the Beijing Declaration, let’s help pave a path to STEM careers that women and girls deserve – and our world needs."
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President Yoon expresses himself to the Korean people in his New Year message
A full text of President Yoon's 'Letter to the People'
By Special Feature Editor Samson Rhee President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea (now in internment) published a lengthy statement on Jan. 15, 2025 expressing himself on the development which ultimately led to his temperary internment. The statement appears fully expresses his position and himself on the recent developments in Korea and on and about himself. This letter was made private and then released on the afternoon of Jan. 15th through President Yoon’s Facebook. Presented hereunder are the full details of an unoffical English translation of the Statement of President Yoon Suk-yeol--Ed. Dear citizens, I hope you all had many good dreams for the New Year? I hope you will have many happy events in the New Year of Eulsa. Since I was impeached on the 14th of December last year, I have had a lot of time to think alone. It's a bit ironic, but now that I've been impeached, I finally feel like I'm the President of the Republic of Korea. After 26 years of public service, the eight months of Presidential campaigning, being elected President of the Republic of Korea and taking over the government, and taking office as the President, I've worked so hard from dawn to late at night since taking office--thinking that I am not the President if I should fail to do my job as one. There were many instances where I had to think hard, discuss and make difficult decisions on public service appointments, election pledges and state affairs, current issues, and crisis management, as well as diplomacy, security, economy, and social issues. Since my school days, I have lived with the idea that ability is effort, so I have worked hard and fiercely. Many people advised me to have authority and take a break like a President, but the domestic and international circumstances have not been easy since my inauguration. We have been faced with exogenous economic crises such as global security and supply chain crises, high prices, high interest rates, and high exchange rates. The explosive increase in national debt due to the populist policies of the previous government, the problem of household loans due to the failure of real estate policies, and the increase in the minimum wage due to the small business policy have made it more difficult to overcome the economic crisis, including the worsening management and loan problems of the self-employed, small business owners, and small and medium-sized enterprises. However, thanks to the people of the Republic of Korea and those others around the word, who trusted and followed me and the government despite the difficult circumstances, we were able to gradually resolve current issues and crises. As a result of abolishing the punitive tax policy and faithfully implementing a real estate policy based on market principles, we managed housing prices stably, connected the diplomacy and economy of a global pivotal country, developed overseas markets, and made efforts to export. As a result, we achieved the highest export performance ever last year and almost caught up with Japan, which has a population 2.5 times larger than ours. Our GDP per capita surpassed Japan’s last year. The nuclear base upgrade of the ROK-US alliance, the strengthening of the comprehensive strategic alliance, and the ROK-US-Japan trilateral cooperation system through the normalization of ROK-Japan relations have firmly supported our economy’s external credibility. The past two and a half years of running here and there for security, economy, and social reform pass by like a panorama. I have many regrets that I should have listened more wisely and done better. When I look back on the last presidential election period and the two and a half years since my inauguration, I think of the faces of each and every citizen who believed in me and supported me despite my shortcomings, and I think of those who drag their tired bodies to work early in the morning, students who go out carrying school bags to prepare for the future in the cold morning, and those who suffer from illness and discomfort in difficult circumstances. I feel sorry that I cannot visit you and help you. I think it is because of this regret that I finally think, “I am the president” after working hard and working hard and being suspended from duty like this. This suspension from duty is the fourth suspension from duty in my public service career. I have been suspended from duty three times in total, once as a prosecutor and twice as the Prosecutor General. People around me say that I am foolish for not making compromises and taking the easy way out. When I am suspended from duty due to foolish choices, people close to me turn their backs and I feel lonely, but as time passes, misunderstandings are resolved and the support and encouragement of many people become strength. My foolish decision has always been my unwavering belief in liberal democracy and the rule of law. Democracy that is not liberal democracy is a fake democracy, and it is dictatorship and totalitarianism in the name of democracy. Democracy is a system to protect individual freedom, and liberal democracy is realized through the rule of law. Also, the way in which freedom of all people in our community coexists is the rule of law. The rule of law is realized through reasonable laws that respect freedom and fair judges. The rule of law is a core element of liberal democracy. Liberal democracy, combined with the principles of a free market economy in the economy, achieves our prosperity through autonomy and creativity, creates abundant resources for welfare and solidarity, and creates a virtuous cycle of prosperity. Although our country does not have natural resources, it has excellent human resources and has developed through open and active international trade. Today, all countries in the world have complex relationships with each other in security, economy, and raw material supply chains. In order to continue our prosperity and pass it on to future generations, solidarity with countries that share the values of freedom and the rule of law is especially important. Of course, countries that do not attack us hostilely should cooperate with us in the realistic aspect of mutual respect and pursuit of common interests, even if their systems and values are different. However, if a country has a different system and values from us, and is invading us with hostile influence, we should always be on guard and protect our sovereignty and prevent it from being undermined. We should always be on guard against hostile influence operations by external forces that encroach on our sovereignty. By doing so, we can block the influence of such forces and prevent them from taking us lightly, while realizing mutual respect and common interests. We must be on guard and careful to enjoy common prosperity and peace. After World War II, the United Nations was established, and resolving disputes through military attacks and war for any reason was prohibited under international law, and wars other than for defensive purposes were prohibited. Since military attacks and provocations of war with guns and swords were prohibited under international law, even powerful countries became a great diplomatic burden, and gray zone tactics that did not involve guns and swords became widely used. Psychological warfare using false propaganda, political warfare such as bribing politicians and interfering in elections, cyber warfare attacking digital systems, and hybrid tactics that add military demonstrations and threats are widely used. Information warfare such as the theft of national secrets and key industrial technology information is also included in hybrid warfare. Therefore, modern emerging security is very comprehensive and diverse, going beyond military political security to include economic security, health and environmental security, energy and food security, advanced technology security, cyber security, and disaster security. Military political security includes information protection, security, and blocking various influence operations. Military provocations and wars are political acts that infringe on the sovereignty of the opposing country, but they do not engage in military provocations and wars prohibited by international law, and they use various gray zone hybrid warfare where the attack and the responsible party are not clearly revealed as a means of infringement on sovereignty. In particular, authoritarian dictatorships and totalitarian states are trying to place many countries, including neighboring countries, under their sphere of influence or vassal states in order to maintain their regimes. If domestic political forces join hands with external forces that infringe on sovereignty, it is advantageous to gain political power with the help of their influence operations. But there is no such thing as a free lunch. We have to give up our core national interests. We give up not only confidential information and industrial technology information, but also energy security and industrial competitiveness such as nuclear power plants, and furthermore, we destroy solidarity with countries that share the values of freedom and invite diplomatic isolation. This is an anti-state act that clearly goes against the national interest. This anti-state act continues not only when these forces are in power as the ruling party, but also when they become a huge opposition party that occupies a large number of seats in the National Assembly. With the powerful National Assembly power and the dictatorship of the National Assembly, they thoroughly block the ruling party’s state administration through legislation and budget blockade and paralyze state affairs. They go beyond the political differences of opinion between the ruling and opposition parties and the checks and balances, and push for the abandonment of anti-state national interests, paralysis of state affairs, and collapse of constitutional order. This is not a story from another country. This is the reality of the Republic of Korea. Any political force has to keep an eye on the voters, so it is difficult to continue their outrageous tyranny, but if they are confident that they can secure seats in the National Assembly as planned or take over administrative power at any time through election manipulation, what can they not do? There is so much evidence of election fraud in our country’s elections. The National Election Commission’s sloppy system that makes this possible has also been revealed. We cannot dismiss election fraud as a conspiracy theory just because there is insufficient evidence to punish a specific person for election fraud. Many bodies were found stabbed to death, but we cannot claim that there was no murder and that it was a normal natural death just because the murderer was not identified. A normal country governed by the rule of law should actively request an investigation by the investigative authorities and cooperate to find the culprit. If a huge number of fake ballots were discovered during the ballot counting in the election lawsuit, and the National Election Commission’s computer system is vulnerable to hacking and manipulation and significantly falls short of the standards of a normal national organization’s computer system, and if they not only make no efforts to correct this, but also refuse to verify and confirm whether the announced number of voters matches the actual number of voters, then a total election fraud system has been put into operation. This is an act of stealing the sovereignty of the people and an act that undermines liberal democracy. In a normal country that pursues liberal democracy and the rule of law, the Supreme Court Justice and the National Election Commission that discovered this in the election lawsuit should have requested an investigation and actively cooperated in the investigation to thoroughly confirm whether such illegal election activities occurred. Nevertheless, they covered it up. Many bodies were found, but if they attack people who talk about murder as a conspiracy theory unless the victims’ families find evidence to prove who the culprit is and file a lawsuit to confirm the punishment, is this a country? An election fraud system consisting of digital systems and fake ballots cannot be attempted and promoted by an inexperienced political force of a country alone. If you make a mistake and get caught, your political power can collapse. It is something that you cannot even think of doing alone. At best, it would be bribery, trading of interests, and manipulation of public opinion. However, the system of electoral fraud that links vote rigging and manipulation of public opinion requires international solidarity and cooperation from political powers that attempt and promote it. The vote rigging system consists of a public opinion poll system controlled by a specific political force and the National Election Commission’s refusal to confirm and conceal the results. The creation of public opinion that the murder case is a conspiracy theory because the murderer cannot be identified also constitutes one axis of the vote rigging system. As you know, if this is the reality of our country, is this a crisis? Is it normal? Is this a national emergency similar to wartime or an incident? Or not? Wartime and an incident are physical situations that occur on our land, that is, a hardware crisis, while our current reality is a crisis of our country’s operating system and software. Article 66 of the Constitution states that the President represents the country as the head of state and has the responsibility to protect the independence of the country, the integrity of the territory, the continuity of the country, and the Constitution. In simple terms, it is a responsibility given to the president to protect the hardware of the Republic of Korea and to safeguard the operating system and software. The huge opposition party is paralyzing state affairs by blocking legislation and budget through the dictatorship of the National Assembly, abusing unconstitutional laws and abnormal laws that go against the national interest to encourage discontent and division of public opinion against the government, suspending high-ranking public officials from their duties through dozens of impeachments, and even impeaching prosecutors and the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection who are investigating and auditing their corruption, and recklessly pushing forward bulletproof legislation to cover up their corruption. This is a crisis that threatens the national governance of the Republic of Korea, and the president has a responsibility to protect this governance. When I saw that they were trying to impeach the head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, a constitutional institution, and bring him to court in the Constitutional Court, which is also a constitutional institution, I thought that emergency measures were necessary to fulfill the responsibility to protect the Constitution. I judged that the series of actions by the huge opposition party constituted a national emergency equivalent to wartime or an incident, and decided to exercise the martial law authority exclusively granted to the president. Martial law used to be limited to preparing for war, but our Constitution stipulates that it is a “state of national emergency equivalent to this,” and thus anticipates various national crises other than war as situations where martial law can be declared. In a national crisis, the first thing a president of a liberal democratic country should do is to inform the sovereign people of the national crisis and appeal to them to work together to overcome it. In a national crisis, we should not overcome it with the military and dictatorial administrative power alone, but share the situation with the sovereign people and receive their cooperation to overcome it. Doesn’t the word martial law mean to inform the public of the severity of the situation and to be on guard? I have tried to protect liberal democracy and constitutional order by informing the public of the urgency of the situation and having the sovereign people keep their eyes wide open to monitor and criticize the destructive corruption of the National Assembly dictatorship, to the public who do not fully recognize that our country’s liberal democracy and sovereignty are in a state of crisis. So, in order to inform the Minister of National Defense of the dictatorship of the National Assembly and maintain order, and to properly inform the public of the fraudulent election system and determine the truth, I ordered the minimum number of troops to be deployed, and 280 troops were deployed to the National Assembly and 290 troops to the National Election Commission. The 280 troops deployed to the National Assembly were on standby in the National Assembly yard, and the troops deployed to the National Election Commission were only a few dozen digital agents who had access to the internal system, while the rest were on standby outside. They immediately withdrew 2 hours and 30 minutes after martial law was declared, when the National Assembly passed a resolution demanding the lifting of martial law, and it ended peacefully without any casualties or damage. Citizens, martial law is not a crime. Martial law is the exercise of the president’s authority to overcome a national crisis. That is why the martial law department exists in the Joint Chiefs of Staff to assist the president in exercising his authority. I was also impeached due to the frame offensive of ‘martial law = internal rebellion,’ and the Minister of National Defense and military officials who prepared and executed it are now under arrest. This is truly absurd. The deployment time of troops is only 2 hours, but is there a 2-hour civil war? Have you ever seen a civil war where they announce to the entire world and the entire nation that they are starting, and then withdraw troops and stop in less than 3 hours because the National Assembly tells them to stop? According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff martial law and martial law manual, nationwide martial law presupposes the use of at least 6~7 divisions and tens of thousands of troops. The Minister of National Defense, who served as the Chief of Operations and the Chief of Operations Headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, must know this. Since it is an appeal to the people in the form of martial law, a small number of troops were planned. Since members of the National Assembly and National Assembly staff were allowed to enter the National Assembly after checking their IDs, the deliberation on the resolution demanding the lifting of martial law proceeded quickly, and thousands of people surrounded the 280 troops in the main building and yard. In accordance with the order to withdraw troops, the military politely greeted the citizens in the yard and withdrew. Are they trying to close the National Assembly? Or did they plan a riot? Recently, the opposition party's impeachment officials withdrew the charge of sedition from the charges at the Constitutional Court. Since the charge of sedition cannot be established, they took the right measure. However, if they impeach him for sedition and then remove the charge of sedition in the trial, isn't it a fraudulent impeachment and fraudulent prosecution? Looking at the situation after the impeachment, I wonder if the politicians who boast of having participated in the democracy movement for so long are right. However, when I see that many citizens and young people have recently become aware of the crisis in our country and have a sense of rights and responsibility as sovereigns, I think they did well to inform the people of the national crisis and appeal to them, and I feel deep gratitude to the people. Since I ran for president, I have known well that the position of president of our country is not a path of glory but a path of suffering. However, as I promised to establish this country’s liberal democracy uprightly and fight against the totalitarian vested interests that ignore freedom and the rule of law to restore sovereignty to the people, I personally have no regrets no matter what happens. Would I have imposed martial law in this way to extend my dictatorship? I mean, martial law for a very short period of time with such a small mini force. I do not know what the judicial judgment will be, but I believe that the people know well whether this martial law is for protecting the Constitution and saving the country. In the past, members of the National Assembly resisted the dictatorship of the president and fought for democracy, so as the president who has been given the responsibility to protect the Constitution, he must naturally resist and fight against the brutality of the National Assembly dictatorship, which is unprecedented in the constitutional history of any country in the world. It is to normalize the functions of the state and protect liberal democracy. When I look at the current judicial reality where arrest warrants are issued by agencies without investigative authority, and judges arbitrarily lift restrictions on search and seizure by law through judicial shopping rather than normal jurisdiction, and illegal and invalid warrants are issued, and thousands of riot police are mobilized to enforce them, and a first-class military facility protection zone is trespassed to arrest the presidential security guards in the act of obstructing the execution of the warrant, I am shocked at the absurdity of the legal profession that I have experienced for 26 years. I am bitterly convinced that my judgment that our country is currently in a serious crisis of national ruin was not wrong, when I see what those who disdain liberal democracy do when they hold the sword of power. Liberal democracy and the rule of law are two sides of the same coin. The rule of law that realizes liberal democracy is not a formal rule of law or a rule of law that uses tricks. This kind of rule of law is the rule of law that is abused to suppress freedom in a people's democratic dictatorship and a totalitarian state. Laws should be created to realize the constitutional spirit of liberal democracy, and once created, laws should not be governed by majority rule, but should thoroughly protect minorities and individual rights. When the leftist movement in our country was not the mainstream, it also relied on the protection of this rule of law, but after it won an absolute majority of seats in the National Assembly, it prioritized majority democracy over actual rule of law, and democratic control over control under the rule of law. When I was the Prosecutor General, I experienced this lawless tyranny of the Democratic Party regime. If this happens, lawyers and legal professionals will be reduced to servants of political power. However, my fellow citizens, cheer up. If the sovereign citizens have a firm sense of rights and responsibility and strive to protect them, the future of this country will be bright and hopeful. My fellow citizens, thank you.
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