What Is Happening at the Constitutional Court Right Now? [AK Radio]

Impeachment Verdict for Choi Jae-hae and Others Set for the 13th
President Yoon's Verdict Expected on the 18th or 21st
Possibility of Coinciding with Lee Jae-myung's Appeal Verdict on the 26th

The Constitutional Court (Constitutional Court) designated the date for the impeachment trial verdict for Choi Jae-hae, Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and Lee Chang-soo, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, along with three other prosecutors, on the 11th. It is scheduled for 10 a.m. on the 13th. Chairman Choi Jae-hae was impeached for neglecting the audit of the relocation process of the presidential office and residence, while the three prosecutors including Lee Chang-soo were impeached for not properly investigating the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee and issuing a non-prosecution disposition. The legal community widely expects both cases to be dismissed.

Initially, the Constitutional Court stated that the impeachment trial of President Yoon was the most important and would be handled first. Both spokesperson Lee Jin and Justice Jeong Hyeong-sik expressed the opinion that "the most urgent and important cases should be handled quickly, and the impeachment trial of President Yoon falls under this." However, contrary to this stance, the decision to proceed first with the impeachment verdict for the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection and the prosecutors has made a change in the schedule for President Yoon's impeachment trial verdict inevitable.

The Constitutional Court will deliver the impeachment judgment on Choi Jae-hae, the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, and others on the 13th. The Constitutional Court justices are seen conducting the impeachment trial.

Many experts initially expected the verdict for President Yoon's impeachment trial to be delivered on the 14th. The trial arguments for President Yoon ended on the 25th of last month, and in the past, former President Roh Moo-hyun's verdict was delivered 14 days after the end of arguments, and former President Park Geun-hye's verdict was delivered 11 days after. However, with the Constitutional Court's announcement that the verdict for the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection and others will be delivered on the 13th, the possibility of delivering the verdict for President Yoon's impeachment trial on the 14th has significantly decreased. Although theoretically possible, it is rare for the Constitutional Court to deliver such important verdicts on consecutive days. The only precedent was in 1995 when verdicts on the Public Official Election Act and multiple unconstitutional cases were delivered on consecutive days.

Why did the Constitutional Court change the schedule? Since the end of the impeachment trial arguments for President Yoon on the 25th of last month, the Constitutional Court has been continuously holding deliberations on weekdays excluding holidays. Since the schedule, agenda, and progress of the deliberations are not disclosed at all, it is difficult to accurately grasp the situation. Based on the opinions of experts and the legal community, it appears that the justices are conducting discussions to reach a unanimous conclusion on the impeachment trial. If there are dissenting opinions, discussions on how to reflect them in the decision document are also taking place.

The fact that President Yoon Seok-yeol was released from detention and returned to the presidential residence on the 8th is also acting as a variable. Since the court pointed out procedural issues at that time, it is analyzed that the Constitutional Court justices are reviewing and discussing more carefully to ensure there are no procedural flaws.

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Currently, there are three main scenarios regarding the timing of President Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment trial verdict. First, there is a possibility that the verdicts for President Yoon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will be delivered together on the 18th (Tuesday) or 21st (Friday) of next week. Notably, the impeachment trial verdicts for former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye were both delivered on Fridays. Second, the verdict for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (argument end date: February 19) could be delivered next week, with President Yoon's verdict postponed to the following week. Third, the verdicts for both Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and the President could be delivered together in the week after next.

If the impeachment trial verdict is postponed to the week after next, it will coincide with the appeal trial verdict for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, scheduled for the 26th on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, potentially heightening political tension. From the Democratic Party's perspective, having President Yoon's impeachment trial verdict after the appeal trial verdict (on the 26th) would highlight the judicial risks facing their leader, which they want to avoid. Accordingly, Democratic Party lawmakers have intensified pressure on the Constitutional Court to expedite the verdict by staging head-shaving protests, walking from Yeouido to Gwanghwamun, and holding daily rallies.

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