High Possibility of Yoon Impeachment Constitutional Court Ruling in Early March

Constitutional Court Dismisses Witness Requests for Han Duck-soo and Lee Kyung-min
Eighth Hearing Scheduled for 13th, Three Witnesses Including Cho Tae-yong to Testify
Ruling Expected After Deliberation by Justices, Likely in Early March

On the 11th, the Constitutional Court dismissed the witness requests for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Lieutenant General Lee Kyung-min, Chief of Staff of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, submitted by President Yoon Seok-yeol's side during the 7th hearing of the impeachment trial. A verification request to compare whether the number of voters in the Incheon Yeonsu-eul electoral district matches the number of voters on the electoral roll was also dismissed. The 8th hearing will be held on the 13th, where three witnesses including National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong will testify.

The Constitutional Court has not yet announced whether it will accept the additional witnesses requested by President Yoon's side, making it difficult to predict the timing of the verdict. However, even if additional witnesses are accepted, considering the examination of President Yoon himself, the final arguments, and the closing statements, it is expected that the trial proceedings will conclude as early as next week. After deliberation by the justices, a ruling on whether to dismiss President Yoon is anticipated around early March. Previously, former President Park Geun-hye's Constitutional Court decision came 92 days after the impeachment motion was passed, and former President Roh Moo-hyun's decision came after 63 days. If the ruling is made in early March, President Yoon's trial schedule, following the impeachment motion passed on December 14 last year, would fall between those of the two former presidents. If the Constitutional Court decides to dismiss him, President Yoon will immediately lose his presidential position, and a presidential election will be held within 60 days. A dismissal decision requires the approval of at least six constitutional court justices. If fewer than six justices vote for dismissal, President Yoon will immediately resume his duties.

Lee Sang-min, who defended Yoon, says "There was substance to the emergency martial law State Council meeting"

On the 11th, former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who testified at the impeachment trial, answered "Not at all" to President Yoon's side's question, "Have you ever received instructions from the President or the Minister of National Defense to cut off power or water to media outlets?" This contradicts the prosecution's indictment, which states that President Yoon showed Lee a document instructing to cut off power and water through the Fire Agency. However, Lee testified, "I saw a few paper notes from a distance in the Presidential Office (workroom) that mentioned cutting off power and water to the Fire Agency." He acknowledged the existence of the document but stated he was not involved.

Regarding the "State Council meeting to declare emergency martial law," Lee said, "I have attended over 100 State Council meetings, but this was the first time there was a substantive, heated discussion and communication among the members," adding, "The meeting to declare martial law was much more substantive than the meeting to lift it, which lasted only one or two minutes." This opinion contrasts with other State Council members who mainly viewed it as difficult to consider it a proper State Council meeting. Lee said, "During the investigation, since martial law was framed as 'rebellion,' some members probably answered that way, but it is nonsense to say that State Council members came to the Presidential Office just for a meeting or to hang out."

Controversy over election fraud claims... words exist but no evidence

Kim Yong-bin, Secretary General of the Central Election Commission, who appeared as a witness for the National Assembly side that day, said, "Election fraud is impossible in actual situations." In response to the National Assembly's question, "Has any fake ballot been found during the recount of the 21st National Assembly election?" Kim replied, "To my knowledge, none have been found." He added, "The 22nd National Assembly election was held after improving the election servers following security consulting by the National Intelligence Service," and expressed regret over the continued claims of election fraud. Kim also reiterated that even if the servers were hacked, manipulation would be exposed through cross-verification with the voter registry, making election fraud impossible.

Baek Jong-wook, former 3rd Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, who led the NIS's work during the Central Election Commission's security inspection in July 2023, pointed out vulnerabilities in the election commission's system but refrained from further comments. He said, "I thought the election commission's system maintained the highest level of security, but there were several vulnerabilities." He acknowledged that if the election system were attacked, theft or alteration of the voter registry could occur. However, in response to the National Assembly's questions, "Are you aware that voting and counting are conducted under the observation of many monitors?" and "Doesn't election fraud require organized cooperation by many accomplices?" he answered, "I do not know the election system well enough to answer," and "I will not comment," respectively.