Moon Hyung-bae (left), former acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court, and Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. [Photo: Yonhap News]

The Citizens' Committee for the People's Livelihood (Secretary-General Kim Soon-hwan) has filed a complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against eight former and current Constitutional Court justices, including Moon Hyung-bae, former acting chief justice, and Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), on charges of abuse of power and distortion of law.

The Citizens' Committee announced on the 20th that they filed the complaint against the heads of judicial and investigative bodies with the police due to procedural flaws and unfair legal interpretations during the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol and the investigation into the December 3rd emergency martial law.

"Violation of Service Procedures, Omission of Investigation Records, and Suspected False Answers"

In their complaint, the Citizens' Committee cited the Constitutional Court's decision to immediately process trial documents as "service by publication" after the Presidential Security Service refused to accept them when they were sent to the presidential residence during the impeachment trial. They argued that this was an administrative convenience measure that infringed upon the respondent's right to defense.

Furthermore, they pointed out that the Constitutional Court's decision to proceed with the impeachment ruling, without dismissing it, despite procedural defects in the process of withdrawing the "treason" charge, which was a key ground for impeachment, in April 2025, constitutes abuse of power and distortion of law.

Regarding Oh Dong-woon, the CIO chief, they emphasized the illegality of the December 3rd emergency martial law investigation. The Citizens' Committee claimed that Oh committed abuse of power by concealing the fact that the warrant request was denied and by omitting some records when handing over investigation files to the prosecution.

In particular, they criticized, "For political loyalty, a warrant was requested at the Seoul Western District Court, evading the competent court, and the public was deceived with false answers during the confirmation hearings," adding, "This has destroyed public trust in the judiciary and investigative agencies and caused widespread social chaos."

"No Casualties During Martial Law... Shocked by the Destruction of the Value of Rule of Law"

The Citizens' Committee emphasized that the emergency martial law at the time was unavoidable, noting that during the brief martial law period of about two hours, no citizen was harmed, and public order was quickly restored. Nevertheless, the complaint's gist is that the judicial authorities proceeded with an unreasonable impeachment and investigation in compliance with the arbitrary tyranny of political power.

Kim Soon-hwan, Secretary-General of the Citizens' Committee, stated, "I cannot help but be shocked by the atrocity that denied the value of the judiciary's existence, ignoring the common sense of 'equality before the law' enshrined in Article 11 of the Constitution," and emphasized, "We must correct the collapsed rule of law by investigating promptly and thoroughly and punishing offenders without exception, regardless of their position."

Account for donations to the Citizens' Committee: Korea Post, Account No. 010108-01-014472

Account Holder: Citizens' Committee for the People's Livelihood

Reporter Lim Yo-hee