Complexified Constitutional Court Schedule... When Is Han Deok-su's Verdict?

Yoon's Ruling Unlikely This Week
Three Weeks Have Passed Since Only the Han Case Verdict Remained
Key Issues Overlap With Yoon's Impeachment... Han Case Verdict May Be Delayed

The Constitutional Court is expected to find it difficult to deliver a ruling this week as more than two weeks have passed since the conclusion of the impeachment trial arguments against President Yoon Seok-yeol. Although it is clearly an 'emergency situation,' the Court rarely issues rulings twice in one week.

Yonhap News

The Court has scheduled the ruling date for the impeachment trials of three prosecutors, including Choi Jae-ha, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and Lee Chang-soo, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, for the 13th. Their trials concluded before President Yoon's case. Similarly, the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Deok-su also concluded its arguments earlier. The Han case ended on the 19th of last month, marking the 21st day on the 12th. Three weeks have passed with only the ruling remaining.

The core reasons for Prime Minister Han's impeachment include his de facto acquiescence to martial law, failure to appoint constitutional court justices elected by the National Assembly, and exercising veto power over the special prosecutor law. Regarding martial law, it has been somewhat revealed through investigations by investigative agencies, National Assembly audits, and testimonies at the Constitutional Court that Prime Minister Han opposed it, making it difficult to consider this a ground for impeachment. The issue lies with the failure to appoint constitutional court justices. Previously, the Court ruled in the 'Ma Eun-hyuk non-appointment' case that non-appointment infringes on the National Assembly's right to elect justices and is unconstitutional. Therefore, the Court only needs to determine whether such unconstitutional acts are serious enough to warrant dismissal.

In the legal community, it is believed that the Han Prime Minister impeachment case does not involve such complex issues, so there is no particular reason to delay the ruling. Nevertheless, there is speculation that the Court is hesitating because some issues overlap with President Yoon's impeachment case. If the Han case is ruled on first, parts of the judgment in President Yoon's case might be disclosed, which the Court wants to avoid.

Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae of the Constitutional Court, along with the 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 Acting Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on February 27, 2025. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

Meanwhile, the police are reportedly considering deploying special forces and creating a de facto 'vacuum zone' within 100 meters around the Constitutional Court on the day of President Yoon's ruling, prohibiting anyone from approaching. Drone flights around the Court will also be restricted, and illegal flights will be countered by signal jammers to bring drones down, with drone operators subject to sanctions under relevant laws.

After the impeachment ruling date is set, the police plan to issue guidelines prohibiting the issuance of hunting firearms nationwide to city and provincial police agencies. The police also issued such guidelines during the impeachment ruling of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017.

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