Constitutional Court: "Yoon's Side's Request to Change Impeachment Trial Date on 20th Still Under Discussion"

The Constitutional Court stated that no decision has yet been made regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol's side's request to change the date of the 10th impeachment trial hearing.

Constitutional Court. Photo by Jo Yong-jun

On the morning of the 17th, Cheon Jae-hyun, the Constitutional Court spokesperson, said at a court briefing that "there has been no communication regarding a conclusion yet" about whether the hearing date will be changed, adding, "If there is no special mention today, it may be announced during tomorrow's hearing."

Earlier, President Yoon's side requested a change of the hearing date, arguing that the Constitutional Court's designation of the 10th impeachment trial hearing for 2 p.m. on the 20th conflicts with the criminal trial schedule. On the morning of the 20th, the first preparatory hearing for President Yoon's treason charges and a detention cancellation hearing are scheduled.

Additionally, in response to reporters' questions about whether the hearing would proceed if the respondent (President Yoon) does not attend, Spokesperson Cheon replied, "The respondent is not a witness, so there is no obligation to attend. It is expected that the proceedings will not be affected by attendance."

Furthermore, the Constitutional Court revealed that the National Assembly submitted a statement on the 15th indicating that there is no need to change the hearing date. The statement reportedly argued that the criminal trial and impeachment trial of the president occur at different times, so there is no issue with proceeding with the hearing. The court also said that on the 14th, the National Assembly requested mutual witnesses regarding Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. However, Spokesperson Cheon explained, "Since the adoption of this request has not yet been decided, they are currently considered witnesses for the respondent's side."

The 10th hearing scheduled for the 20th includes witness examinations of Prime Minister Han, former 1st Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service Hong Jang-won, and Police Commissioner Cho Ji-ho. Spokesperson Cheon said that none of these witnesses have submitted reasons for absence yet. Regarding the possibility of detaining Commissioner Cho, who has already been absent twice, he said, "It may be mentioned within the procedures."