[Impeachment Q&A] When Does President Yoon's Authority Suspension Begin If Impeachment Is Passed?

There are related provisions in the Constitution, Constitutional Court Act, and National Assembly Act
It is interpreted that the exercise of authority is suspended upon receipt of the impeachment resolution under the National Assembly Act

As the number of lawmakers from the People Power Party expressing support for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol increases, the possibility of passing the second impeachment motion against President Yoon, which will be voted on in the National Assembly from 4 p.m. on the 14th, is growing.

If the impeachment motion is passed on this day, the Constitutional Court will hold the third impeachment trial of a sitting president, following the late former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and former President Park Geun-hye in 2016, to decide whether to dismiss the president.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is greeting after a national address at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the 12th. Photo by the Presidential Office. Yonhap News

If the impeachment motion is passed on this day, from when to when will President Yoon's exercise of presidential powers be suspended?

According to the Constitution and the National Assembly Act, President Yoon's exercise of powers will be suspended from the time he receives the copy of the impeachment resolution until the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial is held.

Article 65, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution states, "A person against whom an impeachment resolution has been adopted shall have their exercise of powers suspended until the impeachment trial is held."

Article 50 of the Constitutional Court Act (Suspension of Exercise of Powers) stipulates, "A person against whom an impeachment resolution has been adopted shall have their exercise of powers suspended until the Constitutional Court's trial."

However, Article 134, Paragraph 1 of the National Assembly Act (Delivery and Effect of Impeachment Resolution), which regulates the specific procedures after the adoption of an impeachment resolution against the accused, states, "When an impeachment resolution is adopted, the Speaker shall promptly deliver the original copy of the impeachment resolution to the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who is the impeachment prosecutor, and deliver copies to the Constitutional Court, the person impeached, and the head of the institution to which the person belongs."

Paragraph 2 of the same article states, "When the copy of the impeachment resolution is delivered, the exercise of powers of the person impeached shall be suspended, and the appointing authority shall not accept the resignation letter of the person impeached or dismiss the person impeached."

According to interpretations of the National Assembly Act, the suspension of President Yoon's exercise of powers does not occur immediately upon the National Assembly's adoption of the impeachment resolution; rather, the majority academic view is that the suspension begins only when President Yoon receives the copy of the impeachment resolution from the Speaker of the National Assembly.