Court in a Political Conflict: Note on South Korean Impeachment Case

政治衝突中的法院:評論韓國盧泰愚總統彈劾案

2004年,南韓憲法法院審理由國會提出對於盧武鉉總統的彈劾案,並在嚴重的政治衝突對立中做出史上第一個由憲法法院審理國會提出彈劾案的判決。本文藉由此判決的分析,探究法院在嚴重政治衝突中扮演的角色和策略。除了介紹彈劾案發生的政治和法律背景以及判決相關的爭論和結論,本文嘗試定位南韓憲法法院在民主政治中扮演的角色。本文發現,法院的判決論理既無說服力,其角色也有別於傳統司法審查理論的期待。本文主張,南韓憲法法院看似不合理的判決,唯有將法院理解成一個在分裂政治脈絡下追求政治目標的行動者,才可以獲得合理的解釋。

In March 2004, the Constitutional Court of Korea reviewed the impeachment resolution against President Roh Moo-Hyun brought by the National Assembly of South Korea. The judgment the Court made in serious political confrontation marks the first time in the history of modern constitutionalism that a president impeached by a legislative body has been reinstated by a judicial body. This note attempts to inquiry into the role of the Court in a serious political conflict through the analysis of the context and judgment of this case. After introducing political and legal backgrounds of the incident, as well as the judgment and relevant arguments, this note tries to identify the court's role from three models drawn from prevailing theories of judicial review. However, the court's decision is neither convincing nor able to identify its role in democratic politics. This note argues that the seemingly unreasonable decision can only be fully explained when we understand the Court as a political actor pursuing its political goals in the context of a divided society.