Kwon Seong-dong Visits Constitutional Court, Says "Arbitrary Interpretation of Laws and Regulations... Doubts Grow Over Political Trial"

Kwon: "Authority Dispute Trial for Han Deok-soo Should Be Decided Before Impeachment Trial"
"Impeachment Trial for Yoon Must Follow the Criminal Procedure Act"

Kwon Seong-dong, leader of the People Power Party, visited the Constitutional Court on the 12th and criticized, "If the Constitutional Court arbitrarily interprets laws and regulations and proceeds too quickly with (President Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment trial), trust in that decision will also decline."

After visiting the Constitutional Court, Floor Leader Kwon explained to reporters, "The progress of various trial cases at the Constitutional Court is biased and unfair, raising growing suspicions that 'the Constitutional Court is conducting a political trial'." Attending the visit were Floor Leader Kwon, Chief Deputy Floor Leader Park Hyeong-su, and lawmakers Jo Ji-yeon, Park Chung-kwon, Park Seong-hoon, Lee Jong-wook, Seo Ji-young, and Yoon Han-hong.

Regarding the impeachment trial cases involving government officials, the People Power Party insists that the Constitutional Court should handle them in the order they were received. Floor Leader Kwon stated, "Although the impeachment trial for Prime Minister Han Deok-soo was submitted to the Constitutional Court much earlier than the authority dispute trial for constitutional court nominee Ma Eun-hyeok, the court urgently proceeded with Ma's authority dispute trial, making it difficult to avoid criticism of unfairness."

He continued, "Therefore, today we requested the Constitutional Court to decide on the authority dispute trial concerning Prime Minister Han first, and the court secretary responded that they would convey this intention to the justices."

Floor Leader Kwon explained, "There are two trials concerning Prime Minister Han. One is the authority dispute trial, which questions whether the National Assembly's resolution requires 151 seats or 200 seats. Even though the Constitutional Court could decide this after just a few hours of discussion, they postponed this decision and proceeded to the hearing date for the impeachment trial. We demanded that they conclude the authority dispute trial first and then proceed with the hearing, but the Constitutional Court has continuously rejected our request and is conducting the authority dispute trial and impeachment trial simultaneously, which we pointed out as a serious mistake."

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, and other leadership members are coming out of the entrance after completing a protest visit to the Constitutional Court on the 12th. Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding President Yoon's impeachment trial, Floor Leader Kwon said, "The issue of admitting evidence during the trial process must follow laws and regulations," and criticized, "According to the Constitutional Court Act, 'impeachment trials must follow the Criminal Procedure Act,' and this legislative intent should be fully reflected in the process. However, the Constitutional Court is arbitrarily interpreting that interrogation records or statements prepared with the participation of defense attorneys can be used as evidence."

He repeatedly emphasized that the Constitutional Court should apply the Criminal Procedure Act, which states that "if the suspect does not admit, the suspect's interrogation record cannot be used as evidence in a criminal trial," in response to the court's position that the prosecution's suspect interrogation records can be used as evidence in the impeachment trial.

Floor Leader Kwon pointed out, "In 2020, the Criminal Procedure Act was amended so that if a party denies the suspect's interrogation record, it cannot be used as evidence. Nevertheless, the Constitutional Court is applying the evidence admission principle from the 2017 impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye to this case as well. I wonder why they are so impatient, citing and adhering to their 2017 interpretation even in 2025."

He also stressed, "The Constitutional Court Act stipulates that all cases must be handled within 180 days, but the Constitutional Court declared that it would prioritize the president's impeachment trial, revealing its bias. Former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment trial had 17 hearing sessions, but President Yoon's trial will have only 8 sessions by tomorrow (the 13th), raising issues of fairness."