not authorize the President to dissolve the National Assembly. (C) In conclusion, the question of whether the President accepts the conclusion reached at the National Assembly appointment hearing or the National Assembly's recommendation to remove a certain public official is a question of political reverence towards the decision of the National Assembly as the institution representing the public will, and not one of a legal nature. Therefore, the acts of the President herein were the President's legitimate exercise of his authority within the separation of powers structure under the Constitution, or were in conformity with constitutional norms, thus did not constitute acts in violation of the Constitution or statutes. (5) Remark disparaging the National Assembly, etc. (A) Pursuant to the acknowledged facts, the President in his open letter to the public via the Internet dated May 8, 2003 stated that "The farmer, when the time comes for weeding, roots out the weed from the field. ... certain politicians who fall to personal greed and interest and wrongful group selfishness ... certain politicians who disregard the will of the majority of the public for reform and instead hamper such reform effort and harm the future of the nation...." (note that the President, unlike the allegation of the impeaching petitioner, did not describe the then incumbent members of the National Assembly as the 'weed to be rooted out') and described the movement at the National Assembly of March 8, 2004 to impeach the President as 'unjust abuse of power.' The above statements fall within the definition of the expression of opinion toward politics permitted to the President as the constitutional institution of a political nature and, as such, were not in violation of the Constitution or statutes, apart from the possibility of such statements serving as the ground for political criticism notwithstanding. (B) Although the impeaching petitioner alleges that the President, in his 'address commemorating the 85th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement' of March 1, 2004, stated, concerning the move of the U.S. military base out of Yong-San, that "The symbol of interference, invasion, and dependence will return to the bosom of the citizens of the Republic of Korea as a true independent state," such allegation was not included in the original National Assembly impeachment resolution and is thus deemed to have been added subsequent to the National Assembly's resolution to impeach the President. Therefore, such allegation cannot properly be a subject matter in this impeachment adjudication. - 190 -