Constitutional Court to Deliver Verdict on Chairperson of the Board of Audit and Inspection and Prosecutors on the 13th
Attention Also on the Schedule for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's Impeachment Trial
The Constitutional Court announced that it will reach a verdict on the impeachment trial of the Chairperson of the Board of Audit and Inspection and three prosecutors on the 13th, making it unlikely that the decision on whether President Yoon Seok-yeol will be removed from office or reinstated will be made within this week.
Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae of the Constitutional Court, along with constitutional justices, attended the case concerning 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, acting on behalf of the President, at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on February 27, 2025. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo
On the 11th, the Constitutional Court stated that it will deliver the verdict at 10 a.m. on the 13th for the impeachment trial of Chairperson Choi, including Prosecutor Lee, Central District Prosecutor Cho Sang-won, the 4th Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Central District Prosecutors' Office, and Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon, Head of the Anti-Corruption Division 2 of the Central District Prosecutors' Office. Previously, the Court had concluded the hearings for the three prosecutors and Chairperson Choi's impeachment cases on the 24th and 12th of last month, respectively.
Considering the precedent of two past presidential impeachment trials where verdicts were delivered on a Friday about two weeks after the conclusion of hearings, it was highly anticipated that President Yoon's case would be decided on the 14th. However, since the Constitutional Court has never issued verdicts on two consecutive days for major cases, the possibility of concluding President Yoon's case within this week appears low.
A Constitutional Court official explained, "There were verdicts on two consecutive days in 1995 and verdicts on alternate days in 1996, but these are very old cases and thus not really meaningful, so it is safe to say there is no precedent."
In response, some argue that since the research officers supporting the justices' deliberations in the task force (TF) are different for each case, even if verdicts for Chairperson Choi and others are delivered on the 13th, a verdict for President Yoon could still be given on the 14th.
Some speculate that the Constitutional Court might finish deliberations on President Yoon's case this week and set the verdict date for the 18th or 21st. Given the sharply divided opinions, if the Court carefully considers each issue and reaches a conclusion, a verdict might be issued at the end of March.
Since the Court has not yet announced the verdict date for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's impeachment trial, which concluded hearings six days before President Yoon's, there is speculation that the case involving issues related to the December 12-13 emergency martial law might be delayed somewhat. The Prime Minister's impeachment trial could be decided simultaneously with President Yoon's case.
President Yoon and Prime Minister Han's sides have requested the Court to deliver the verdict for the Prime Minister's case first, raising the possibility that it could be decided either simultaneously with or before President Yoon's impeachment trial. However, considering the time needed for deliberations, drafting the decision, and voting, it seems unlikely that a verdict on President Yoon will be reached even next week.
Additionally, the impeachment trials currently pending for Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae and Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Cho Ji-ho are partially related to President Yoon's charges, such as attending the State Council meeting before the martial law declaration and blocking the National Assembly. Minister Park has also requested an earlier verdict than President Yoon's case, but given that two preparatory hearings have just been completed and the first hearing is scheduled for the 18th, it appears realistically difficult. The trial date for Commissioner Cho's impeachment has not yet been set.
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