Legal Community Sees Verdict on the 14th as Most Likely
Schedule to Be Announced 2-3 Days Before Ruling
Many Variables Remain, Including Possible Resumption of Arguments
There is growing interest in whether the release of President Yoon Seok-yeol will also affect the schedule of the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial. The legal community views the 14th as the most likely date for the verdict, but if President Yoon's legal team requests a resumption of arguments or if the Constitutional Court panel deems it necessary to further review procedural flaws following the decision to cancel President Yoon's detention, the deliberation period could be extended.
Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and constitutional justices attended the case regarding the dispute over the appointment suspension of candidate Ma Eun-hyuk, filed by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik against Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, held on the 27th at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2025.02.27 Photo by Yoon Dong-joo
Since concluding the impeachment trial arguments on the 25th of last month, the Constitutional Court has held daily deliberations to organize the issues. In particular, the justices have been organizing and discussing the issues based on a report prepared by the Constitutional Research Officer Task Force (TF) since the 4th. The court panel has not scheduled any other proceedings until the 17th.
The legal community currently favors the possibility of a verdict on the 14th, which is 85 days after the passage of President Yoon's impeachment motion. This is because the verdicts for former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Roh Moo-hyun were delivered on Fridays about two weeks after the conclusion of arguments. The Constitutional Court decision came 92 days after the impeachment motion was passed for former President Park and 63 days for former President Roh. Professor Kim Seon-taek of Korea University Law School said, "It will be difficult for the Constitutional Court to delay the verdict beyond this week," adding, "It is likely that deliberations are proceeding at the level of revising dissenting opinions, and the verdict schedule will soon be notified to both sides."
However, some speculate that the Constitutional Court panel may continue deliberations longer, mindful of the ‘due process controversy’ that has emerged as a key issue following the decision to cancel President Yoon's detention. There is speculation that the verdict date could be postponed by one to two weeks due to the repercussions of this cancellation decision. Previously, President Yoon's side submitted an opinion letter from seven constitutional law scholars to the Constitutional Court, outlining ten procedural issues including the ‘withdrawal of the charge of rebellion.’
The possibility of Judge Ma Eun-hyuk joining the panel remains a variable. Although the Constitutional Court accepted the jurisdictional dispute on the 27th of last month, Acting President Choi Sang-mok has not appointed Judge Ma even after 11 days. In addition to President Yoon's impeachment trial, other impeachment trials, including that of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is waiting in line, are also approaching verdicts. These could also influence the timing of President Yoon's verdict.
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