Constitutional Court to review impeachment

尹 Constitutional Court to review impeachment immediately...Moon Hyung-bae "Quick and Fair Trial"
Jang Seo-woo 2024. 12. 14. 18:52

a meeting of judges will be called next Monday
Designation of the chief referee and discussion of the schedule for handling the case

Moon Hyung-bae, acting president of the Constitutional Court, said on the impeachment motion of the Yoon Suk Yeol filed with the Constitutional Court on the 14th, "We will make a quick and fair trial."

An official of the Constitutional Court said in a briefing held shortly after Chung Chung-rae, chairman of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee, submitted an original copy of the impeachment bill of Yoon to the Constitutional Court, "The original copy of the impeachment bill of the presidential Yoon Suk Yeol was submitted to the Constitutional Court at 18:15 today, and acting president Moon made the announcement around the time of the filing."

"We will convene a meeting of the justices at 10 a.m. next Monday (April 16) to discuss the timeline for handling the case," Moon said. "We will appoint two justices (to investigate evidence) and form a task force for constitutional researchers." The size of the task force has yet to be determined.

It is expected that the chief judge will also be designated at the trial court meeting next week. The referee is decided by a random lottery method using a computer-electronic dividend system. In principle, the Constitutional Court does not disclose the referee, but it is widely expected to do so considering the importance of the case. At the time of former President Park Geun Hye's impeachment in 2016, the referee was former Judge Kang Il-won.

Constitutional Court justices immediately began to review the impeachment motion filed on the day. Unlike ordinary constitutional petitions, cases of impeachment are immediately referred to the full court without going through a preliminary examination. However, the court plans to review the case at home without going to the court during the weekend. "We cannot disclose confidential information (about what will be reviewed during the weekend)," a source at the court said. "We will tell you as soon as the proceedings are underway."

The National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Yoon Suk Yeol on the day. More than two-thirds of the incumbent lawmakers (300) should approve the impeachment motion, with 204 votes in favor. The opposition was 85 votes, three abstaining votes, and eight invalid votes. It is the third time in the constitutional history that an impeachment motion against an incumbent president has been passed by the National Assembly since former Presidents Roh Moo Hyun (2004) and Park Geun-hye (2016).

The Constitutional Court must decide whether to impeach the president within a maximum of 180 days from the date of receipt of the impeachment motion. It took 63 days for Roh and 91 days for Park from the filing of the case to the sentencing. It is highly likely that the conclusion will be made before April 18 next year when the terms of Acting President Moon and Justice Lee Mi-sun end.

If the Constitutional Court accepts the National Assembly's decision to impeach the president, Yoon will be removed from office in accordance with the Constitution and must hold a presidential election within 60 days. If the Constitutional Court overturns the case, the impeachment motion will be destroyed immediately and Yoon can return to state administration.