‘Respondent Yoon Seok-yeol’ Standing in Court... How Will the Legal Battle Unfold? [Impeachment Q&A]

In the Case of Former President Park Geun-hye's Impeachment Trial
3 Preparatory Hearings and 17 Main Hearings Held

In impeachment trials, the National Assembly acts as the petitioner, and the president is the respondent. The National Assembly participates in the impeachment trial through the ‘Prosecution Committee,’ led by the Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Both the National Assembly’s Prosecution Committee and the president may receive assistance from representatives (lawyers). Since the impeachment trial procedure applies criminal procedure laws, the National Assembly prosecutors perform the role of prosecutors in a general criminal trial, while the president’s representatives act as defense attorneys.

The National Assembly’s Prosecution Committee is also allowed to conduct examinations. Article 49 of the Constitutional Court Act stipulates that prosecutors may examine the respondent. If President Yoon, who is both the respondent and a legal professional, appears in person, members of the National Assembly may directly question him and engage in legal debates.

In the case of former President Park, he did not appear in the impeachment trial court to make a statement. However, there is a precedent where the defense team read aloud a written opinion prepared by the president in the courtroom.

Attention is also focused on the composition of President Yoon’s defense team. In the impeachment trial of former President Park, the president’s defense team consisted of a total of 20 lawyers: 12 individual lawyers and 8 lawyers from 6 law firms.

Once the impeachment trial begins, the parties exchange positions on issues, specific claims, and methods of proof through preparatory hearings and coordinate future plans. After the trial plan is established, specific claims and evidence are presented through trial hearings, including witness examinations and evidence investigations.

In former President Park’s impeachment trial, three preparatory hearings were held in December 2016, and a total of 17 trial hearings took place from January to the end of February 2017. Witness examinations during trial hearings commence only if the Constitutional Court accepts witnesses requested by either party. When a witness appears, the party who requested the witness conducts the direct examination first, followed by cross-examination by the opposing party.