Seoul: The Constitutional Court has decisively rejected the impeachment motions against the chief state auditor and three top prosecutors, following allegations of misconduct related to the 2022 relocation of the presidential office and residence. In an 8-0 unanimous decision, the court dismissed the motion targeting Choe Jae-hae, the chair of the Board of Audit and Inspection, allowing him to resume his duties without delay.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the court also dismissed impeachment motions against Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office; Cho Sang-won, deputy chief prosecutor at the same office; and Choi Jae-hun, head of the office's second anti-corruption investigation division. The impeachment motions required the consent of at least six justices to be upheld, which was not achieved.

The court clarified that the Board of Audit and Inspection had conducted a proper audit to determine whether legal procedures were followed during the decision-making process of the relocation. Additionally, the court found no evidence to suggest that Choe's audit of Jeon Hyun-heui, former chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, was intended to pressure her resignation.

The impeachment motions, initiated by the opposition-controlled National Assembly in December, accused the prosecutors of failing to indict first lady Kim Keon Hee in connection with an alleged stock price manipulation scheme. They were also accused of providing false information during press briefings. However, the court found no abuse of authority or false claims in their actions.

These rulings are seen as indicative of the Constitutional Court's stance on similar charges in a separate impeachment trial against President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached following his attempt to impose martial law last December. President Yoon justified his actions by citing a "paralysis" of state affairs attributed to the opposition's persistent impeachments of senior officials.