'11 Losses in 11 Matches'... Will Yoon Succeed at the Constitutional Court?

Attending the Third Hearing in Person Today
First Appearance by a Sitting President
Direct Testimony on Emergency Martial Law
Tension Surrounds the Constitutional Court

President Yoon Suk-yeol will personally attend the third impeachment trial hearing held at 2 p.m. on the 21st in the Grand Bench of the Constitutional Court. This is the first time a president impeached by the National Assembly has appeared in person at the Constitutional Court courtroom. Previously, former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye had entrusted all constitutional trial proceedings to their legal representatives.

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President Yoon had so far refused to respond to investigations by investigative agencies such as the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), but he appeared at the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Western District Court on the 18th and personally explained the reasons for declaring the “12·3 Emergency Martial Law” for 40 minutes. However, the court issued an arrest warrant. This marked a bitter defeat for President Yoon in his first courtroom battle, and including the subsequent validity reviews and recusals filed by his lawyers, he has lost consecutively 11 times. The president’s side has announced that President Yoon will continue to attend the impeachment trial hearings held every Tuesday and Thursday. As a former legal professional, President Yoon intends to defend himself in the trial that will decide his fate.

President Yoon, who is being held in solitary confinement at Seoul Detention Center, reportedly met with his legal team (representatives) until 9:30 p.m. the previous night to prepare for the impeachment trial. Since this is his first public appearance since the declaration of emergency martial law, he refined his testimony late into the night to persuade the Constitutional Court justices.

With President Yoon deciding to appear in person at the impeachment trial courtroom, some changes in the Constitutional Court’s trial process are expected. Initially, regarding the third hearing, the court planned to proceed mainly with investigations based on closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage evidence submitted by the National Assembly side, including footage from the National Assembly, the Speaker’s official residence, and the Central Election Commission, assuming President Yoon would not attend. However, with his attendance, the court is expected to go through procedures to directly hear and verify testimonies related to the “12·3 Emergency Martial Law” that were not heard during the first and second hearings.

Yonhap News

The content of President Yoon’s testimony is expected to be based on his public statements after the emergency martial law declaration last month, including statements delivered through his legal team. President Yoon has maintained that the emergency martial law was declared due to the “fraudulent election” allegations and the impeachment led by the major opposition party causing government paralysis, and that this was an act of presidential governance, thus not subject to judicial review. He also claims that there was no intention to seize control of the National Assembly through the emergency martial law, and that military forces were deployed solely to maintain order.

Tensions are rising around the Constitutional Court as supporters of President Yoon are gathering one after another. Previously, on the 19th, extreme supporters of President Yoon stormed the Seoul Western District Court, raided judges’ offices, and wreaked havoc in the court building. This was an unprecedented disaster in judicial history. The police have deployed 64 riot squads and over 4,000 officers around the Constitutional Court. Double police barricades and multiple layers of bus barriers have been installed at the court’s main gate and inside to prepare for any emergencies.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court will decide on the dismissal of Broadcasting and Communications Commissioner Lee Jin-sook, whose impeachment motion was passed by the National Assembly last year, on the 23rd. This will be 174 days since Commissioner Lee’s suspension from duty, narrowly meeting the 180-day deadline for impeachment trials. This is the first ruling issued since the appointment of Justices Jeong Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang, bringing the Constitutional Court to an “8-member system.”