President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday ordered an investigation into lawyers accused of insulting a judge and an inspection of prosecutors who collectively walked out of a courtroom, calling both episodes a threat to constitutional order.

The president expressed “deep regret and concern” over what he described as personal attacks by defense lawyers on the judiciary and acts of “trial obstruction” by prosecutors, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.

Lee cited the case of two defense lawyers for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who stirred controversy by causing disturbances in court and later harshly criticizing the presiding judge on a YouTube channel.

He also referred to an incident in the trial of former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young, where prosecutors filed a recusal motion and left the courtroom in protest of the judge’s instructions.

Lee further instructed authorities to carry out swift investigations and inspections, noting that undermining judicial independence and courtroom order constitutes an act that threatens the foundations of constitutional governance.

The directive came roughly seven-and-a-half hours after Lee returned from a ten-day overseas trip to Africa and the Middle East.