Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment verdict could be out as soon as next week

SEOUL - The Constitutional Court of Korea, which

concluded the hearings

of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial on Feb 25, is likely to release its verdict as early as next week.

According to news reports, the court is planning to continue justices’ deliberations on Mr Yoon’s impeachment case on March 5 and 7.

Speculation is growing that the court’s ruling on Mr Yoon’s case could also be announced on a Friday, as the rulings on the two previous presidential impeachments – former president Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and former president Park Geun-hye in 2017 – were announced on a Friday.

If that is the case, it is likely that the verdict will be announced on March 14, given the planned deliberations this week.

In previous cases, former president Roh’s ruling was issued 14 days after arguments concluded, while former president Park’s ruling took 11 days.

This is another reason to expect the ruling to be delivered by the second week of March, following the timelines of past impeachment trials, as the arguments in Mr Yoon’s trial concluded on Feb 25.

The court has officially said that it has not yet decided on a specific day for announcing its verdict.

It is also undecided whether the court will broadcast the impeachment ruling announcement live. It televised the impeachment ruling announcements for Roh’s and Park’s trials, citing the gravity of the matter and high public interest as reasons for doing so.

Meanwhile, despite the court’s ruling on Feb 27 that Acting President Choi Sang-mok’s refusal to appoint Mr Ma Eun-hyuk was a violation of the National Assembly’s rights, and that Mr Choi has a constitutional duty to appoint the justice, it seems unlikely that the appointment of Mr Ma will affect Mr Yoon’s case.

Following the Feb 27 ruling, there was speculation that if Mr Choi appoints Mr Ma, he might have joined the deliberations on Mr Yoon’s impeachment case – which could potentially require reopening the arguments and delay a decision.

But it is expected that the court will proceed with its existing eight justices who have been involved in the deliberations so far, from the first two preparatory hearings and over 11 rounds of formal hearings.

In addition to Mr Yoon’s case, the court is also reviewing the impeachment cases of

suspended Prime Minister Han Duck-soo

and Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, but it has prioritised the president’s case.

Local news reports suggested that Mr Choi was still considering whether to appoint Mr Ma or not, as the majority of the Cabinet members have reportedly voiced concern during a meeting on March 4 over an immediate appointment, urging his careful consideration.

In particular, it is reported that Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu and others argued that since suspended Prime Minister Han could potentially return to office, Acting President Choi should refrain from appointing Mr Ma at this time, as that could make it more likely the court upholds Mr Han’s impeachment.

Many of the meeting’s attendees reportedly agreed with this view.

Mr Choi appears to be weighing the timing of Mr Ma’s appointment, as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has made Mr Ma’s appointment a condition for resuming national policy discussions, whereas the ruling People Power Party has opposed it. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK