Constitutional Court: "Judges' Meeting Scheduled for 26th... Impeachment Arguments and Hearings Possible with Six Members"

Ahead of the first impeachment preliminary hearing on the 7th
Judges' meeting on the 26th to discuss the trial direction

On the 16th, the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is conducting related procedures for a swift trial ahead of the full impeachment trial of President Yoon Seok-yeol. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

The Constitutional Court will hold a justices' meeting on the 26th. This is to discuss the direction of the trial for President Yoon Seok-yeol, whose first hearing is scheduled for the following day (27th). President Yoon's side has neither sent nor received the documents requested by the Constitutional Court. They have not even appointed legal counsel, and it is expected that countermeasures regarding this will be addressed.

On the 24th, Lee Jin, the Constitutional Court spokesperson, said at the afternoon regular briefing, "A justices' meeting is scheduled for the 26th," adding, "The schedule has been newly set, and the agenda or details will be communicated appropriately after the meeting." Since the justices' meeting is held a day before the first preparatory hearing of the impeachment case on the 27th, it is anticipated that the direction of the trial in light of the non-submission of documents will be discussed.

Regarding the possibility that President Yoon's side continues not to submit materials such as minutes of the Cabinet meeting and does not appoint a representative, resulting in absence from the preparatory hearing, spokesperson Lee said, "These are all matters to be decided by the justices." He added, "For reference, impeachment trials apply the Criminal Procedure Act," explaining, "The provisions of the preparatory trial procedure can be referred to." According to the Criminal Procedure Act, the preparatory trial procedure organizes the claims and evidence plans of both sides; attendance by the parties is not mandatory, but representatives must attend.

As of the morning of that day, it was confirmed that no documents had been submitted by President Yoon's side. Spokesperson Lee explained, "Yesterday and today, the delegation letters of the National Assembly's prosecution side representatives were submitted to the Constitutional Court, and no additional documents have been received from the parties." He added that "LKB & Partners and six other firms have been appointed as representatives for the National Assembly side." The Constitutional Court had previously stated that the impeachment trial documents sent on the 19th arrived at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong on the 20th, and that a response must be submitted by the 27th in accordance with relevant laws.

Regarding President Yoon's side's claim that a full trial is impossible with a 'six-justice panel,' the Constitutional Court stated, "As Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae said, it is our position that trial and hearing are possible even with six justices." On the morning of the same day, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun had said, "The six-justice panel is an incomplete deliberative body," adding, "It is true that there are contentious issues overall, including whether a full trial can indeed be conducted with a six-justice panel."