Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo criticizes postponement of President Lee's trial as an act of the judiciary undermining its own authority (South Korea)

On the 11th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a lawmaker from the opposition People Power Party, said, "We are offering special privileges to President Lee Jae-myung in response to the courts' repeated postponements of the trial of President Lee Jae-myung.
On the morning of the 11th, Rep. Ahn posted on his Feibook, "The court found President Lee guilty of violating the Public Offices Election Act, and the Baekje District Judge, who is a former vice president of Daejang-dong, has filed a lawsuit against the president."
The court also "postponed" trial dates for major criminal cases, including corruption in Daejang-dong and Baekhyun-dong, and suspended the trials indefinitely."
The trial dates for the Dong incident and other cases were postponed, effectively suspending them. Rep. Ahn said, "Article 84 of the Constitution stipulates that 'The President shall not be liable to criminal prosecution while in office, except in cases of internal rebellion or external treason.'
"There is debate about the scope of this 'prosecution,' but constitutional scholars have interpreted it as meaning only the filing of a lawsuit (indictment) and not including the suspension of an ongoing trial.
He also pointed out that "for an individual court to unilaterally halt a trial is to give President Lee privileges that transcend the Constitution," and that "even the courts have the power to exercise their power over the Constitution.
"If the law is interpreted arbitrarily to suit the preferences of those accused of serious crimes and those who have committed crimes, then who has the right to ask the public to obey the law?" he argued.
"This is a direct denial of the fundamental principle that all citizens are equal under the law," he said. Ahn added, "The unprecedented suspension of the trial is an act of the judiciary voluntarily kneeling before the president.
This is an act that destroys the basic order of a democracy based on the separation of powers," and "The prosecution will immediately raise an objection to the court's unjust postponement of the trial date and will use all means permitted by the Criminal Procedure Law to seek a retrial.
"We strongly urge the courts to make independent and common-sense decisions regarding President Lee's other cases currently under trial," he said.