If Impeachment Passes, Case Moves to Constitutional Court... Yoon's Suspension
Constitutional Court to Decide by June Next Year at the Latest
Key Issue: Constitutional Court's Six-Member System... "Will Discuss"
The impeachment vote against President Yoon Seok-yeol, who declared martial law, is fast approaching. If the impeachment motion against President Yoon passes the plenary session of the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court will begin the formal impeachment trial process.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is making an urgent announcement on the 3rd at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 5th at 12:48 AM, the National Assembly held a plenary session and reported the impeachment motion against President Yoon submitted by six opposition parties: the Democratic Party of Korea, the Party for National Innovation, the Reform Party, the Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party, and the Social Democratic Party. The impeachment motion must be voted on no earlier than 24 hours and no later than 72 hours after the report. Therefore, the vote can take place anytime between 12:48 AM on the 6th and 12:48 AM on the 8th. A presidential impeachment motion is approved if it is proposed by a majority of the total members of the National Assembly and receives at least two-thirds approval of the total members.
If the impeachment motion is approved, the impeachment resolution will be delivered to the Constitutional Court. Upon delivery, President Yoon’s duties will be suspended. The Constitutional Court will also begin the impeachment trial process. The impeachment trial case is handled by the full bench of all justices, and the presiding justice is assigned through electronic allocation.
The Constitutional Court is expected to rule on the impeachment case by June of next year at the latest. According to Article 38 of the Constitutional Court Act, the Court must deliver a verdict within 180 days from the date the case is received. However, the actual trial period is expected to be shorter. In the case of former President Roh Moo-hyun, it took 63 days for the Constitutional Court’s decision, and for former President Park Geun-hye, it took 91 days.
Currently, only six of the nine Constitutional Court justices remain. Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae has stated that hearings can proceed with six justices. When arriving at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the day before, Acting Chief Justice Moon told reporters, “Regardless of the specific case, based on the injunction suspending the effect of Article 23, Paragraph 1 of the Constitutional Court Act, we can at least hold hearings in general terms.” The Constitutional Court unanimously accepted the injunction suspending the effect of Article 23, Paragraph 1 in October. However, when asked whether a decision on impeachment is possible with six justices, Acting Chief Justice Moon replied, “We will discuss it.”
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