B. Subject Matter of Review
(1) The subject matters of review in the instant case are whether
the President violated the constitution or statutes in performing his
duties and whether the President should be removed from office by
the issuance of the Constitutional Court's order as such.
(2) The Constitutional Court, as a judicial institution, is restrained
in principle to the grounds for impeachment stated in the National
Assembly's impeachment resolution. Therefore, no other grounds
for impeachment except those stated in the impeachment resolution
constitute the subject matter to be adjudicated by the Constitutional
Court at the impeachment adjudication proceeding.
However, with respect to the 'determination on legal provisions,'
the violation of which is alleged in the impeachment resolution, the
Constitutional Court in principle is not bound thereby. Therefore,
the Constitutional Court may determine the facts that led to the
impeachment based on other relevant legal provisions as well as the
legal provisions which the petitioner alleges have been violated.
Also, the Constitutional Court is not bound by the structure of the
grounds for impeachment as categorized by the National Assembly
in its impeachment resolution in determining the grounds for impeachment. Therefore, the question of in which relations the grounds for
impeachment are legally examined is absolutely to be determined by
the Constitutional Court.
2. Summary of the Impeaching Petitioner's Argument
and the Respondent's Answer
A. Summary of the Argument of the Impeaching
Petitioner
(1) Not only an act of a public official in violation of the provisions of the Constitution or statutes in the performance of his or
her official duties, but also immorality concerning the performance
of the office or the political incapability and the error in political
decisionmaking, constitutes the grounds for impeachment. The grounds
for impeachment are "all" acts in violation of the Constitution and
statutes in the performance of his or her official duties and are not
limited to only "grave" violations. Even if it is necessary to limit
the grounds for impeachment to an 'act of grave violation' in order
to prevent abuse of the impeachment system, it is manifest that a
violation of the constitutionally mandated obligation or an unfaithful
performance of the official duties by the President, unlike other acts
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