On the 16th, Jeong Hyeong-sik, a Constitutional Court Justice, is arriving at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Jeong Hyeong-sik, a constitutional court justice (age 63, Judicial Research and Training Institute class 17) nominated by President Yoon Seok-yeol, has been appointed as the presiding judge for the impeachment trial.
According to legal circles on the 16th, the Constitutional Court assigned the impeachment case to Justice Jeong on the same day. The presiding judge is assigned through a computer-based random draw.
The Constitutional Court conducted a random assignment among five justices, excluding Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyeong-bae, to designate the presiding judges for the three impeachment trials received. The subjects were three individuals: President Yoon, Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae, and Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Jo Ji-ho.
Justice Jeong was assigned as the presiding judge for President Yoon’s impeachment trial, and according to regulations, Justice Lee Mi-seon, who belongs to the same division, will participate as an associate justice responsible for evidence investigation and other duties.
Justice Jeong was directly nominated by President Yoon and took office in December last year. The Constitutional Court consists of nine justices in total, with three nominated each by the President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and three elected by the National Assembly.
Justice Jeong has Park Seon-young, chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as his sister-in-law. Park’s spouse, former Supreme Court Justice Min Il-young, is his brother-in-law.
Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyeong-bae stated, "After a justices’ meeting, we conducted a random electronic assignment excluding one justice who was assigned as the presiding judge for four impeachment cases," and added, "The confidentiality of the presiding judge was a measure based on internal regulations regarding the drafting of Constitutional Court decisions, and we found no grounds to make an exception in this case."
He further emphasized, "The preparation hearing involves two associate justices jointly, and the main hearing is conducted under the presiding judge with deliberation by all justices, so who the presiding justice is does not affect the speed or direction of the trial."
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