Released Yoon Pressures Constitutional Court over 'Impeachment Trial'... Ruling "Dismissal" by Ruling Party vs "100% Acceptance" by Opposition Party

Democratic Party to Hold Daily General Meetings and Overnight Sit-ins Until Impeachment Ruling
Opposition Urges Constitutional Court to Uphold Impeachment Through Statements and Social Media
Pro-Yoon Figures in the Ruling Party Call for Dismissal or Rejection of Impeachment

With the release of President Yoon Suk-yeol, the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea, who had been holding the prosecution accountable, pressured the Constitutional Court on the 9th ahead of the final ruling on the impeachment trial. As there are expectations that the Constitutional Court's ruling on President Yoon's impeachment trial could come as early as this week, both parties appear to be mounting an all-out effort in the final stages.

According to political circles on the 9th, the Democratic Party of Korea decided to hold two general meetings of lawmakers daily at the National Assembly until the day of the impeachment ruling and to begin overnight sit-ins until midnight.

On the same day, the Democratic Party pressured the Constitutional Court to accept President Yoon's impeachment through statements issued by spokespersons and posts on Facebook by key figures. Jeong Cheong-rae, chairman of the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee and an impeachment prosecutor, emphasized repeatedly on Facebook, "Although there seems to be a temporary reactionary setback due to Yoon Suk-yeol's release, a greater counter-reaction energy will push history forward again," adding, "The cancellation of detention related to the criminal trial procedure has nothing to do with the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial. Yoon Suk-yeol will soon be dismissed by the Constitutional Court."

Spokesperson Han Min-soo stated in a commentary that "the sentence for the leader who instigated the rebellion should be at least life imprisonment," and warned, "Yoon Suk-yeol should not act as if he has obtained a pardon for rebellion and provoke public anger. The day of reckoning is not far off." He added, "This release should be remembered as having no influence on the Constitutional Court's ruling. Rather, it only strengthens the justification for the Constitutional Court to deliver a faster and more decisive impeachment ruling to quell national chaos."

Former Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Doo-kwan also wrote on Facebook, "I do not 100% doubt the Constitutional Court's dismissal of Yoon Suk-yeol," and reassured, "Yoon Suk-yeol is just temporarily released, not returning to duty, so do not worry about the reinstatement of martial law." Kim further emphasized, "The release of Yoon Suk-yeol, a co-conspirator in the rebellion by the prosecution, shows why the regime must be changed and the prosecution reformed," and insisted, "The new democratic government must clean up the prosecution involved in the rebellion and ensure Yoon Suk-yeol receives a proper trial."

The Reform New Party also called for a swift impeachment decision against President Yoon. Earlier, Lee Dong-hoon, chief spokesperson of the Reform New Party, stated in a commentary immediately after the president's release, "The grave crime of the leader of the rebellion who, deluded by baseless election fraud conspiracies, pointed guns at the National Assembly and the people cannot be concealed by anything," urging, "Now the Constitutional Court must stop Yoon Suk-yeol, an A-level dangerous figure. The Constitutional Court must protect the rule of law and democracy in the Republic of Korea by making a prompt impeachment ruling."

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The People Power Party also raised voices, mainly among pro-Yoon lawmakers, insisting that President Yoon's impeachment should be dismissed or rejected. On the same day, lawmaker Na Kyung-won held a press conference at the communication center, stating, "The Constitutional Court should correct misunderstandings about parliamentary democracy in the impeachment trial and dismiss the impeachment trial of the president, which has serious flaws," adding, "Even if the main trial proceeds, according to the rules of evidence, there is no evidence to prove the rebellion other than threats and contaminated evidence, and as already revealed, these pieces of evidence are completely unreliable, so at the very least, dismissal is appropriate."

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun also wrote on Facebook, "Some Constitutional Court justices must awaken from the delusion that they, as appointed officials, can do anything to the president elected by the people, who have fallen into political games," and argued, "The only way to restore shaken judicial trust is to promptly dismiss the impeachment request against the president." He criticized the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, saying, "It is time to end the 'curse ritual' and regain rationality to cooperate in normalizing state affairs," and asked, "How long do you intend to continue fostering such extreme confrontational and abnormal situations?"

People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun stated on Facebook, "The Constitutional Court's impeachment trial process against President Yoon is stained with illegality and unfairness," arguing, "The impeachment motion is invalid as the charge of rebellion was deleted, losing the identity of the grounds for impeachment, and during the trial process, numerous Constitutional Court laws were not observed, resulting in a loss of legitimacy of the impeachment trial and leaving serious procedural flaws." He encouraged President Yoon's supporters, saying, "Just as we freed President Yoon with the power of the people, let us fight until the last second to dismiss the impeachment request this time."

People Power Party lawmaker Jang Dong-hyuk pointed out, "The decision to cancel President Yoon's detention has sealed the fate of dismissal or rejection of the impeachment trial," adding, "Seeing that the Democratic Party has even pulled out the card of a 24-hour overnight sit-in, it is clear they sense that impeachment is off the table." He further criticized, "All investigation records and evidence created by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials have become illegally obtained evidence. Naturally, the evidence taken to the Constitutional Court has also become unusable," and pointed out, "It was problematic from the start to ignore the Constitutional Court Act and bring investigation records during an ongoing investigation, and the illegality of adopting evidence in violation of the Criminal Procedure Act remains intact."

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This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.