March 20, 2025
Seoul – The Constitutional Court has reviewed the motion of impeachment President Yoon Suk Yeol for longer than expected, as more than three weeks have passed since the hearing ended in late February.
In the case of impeachment, former presidential parks Geun-hye and Roh Moo-Hyun concluded within two weeks.
Although Judge Cheong Hyung-Sik, who presided over the case, stressed in December's swift ruling on Yoon and his brief martial law order, the court's committee has not yet announced the final ruling date as of press time. Courts usually announce a date of at least two or three working days ahead of the judgment, meaning there is no Wednesday announcement and it may be held next week.
There are many speculations about why the court's ruling was delayed. The court told reporters only that it would announce the date of the judgment after notifying the representatives of the Parliament and the Yuan.
Jung Chung-Rae, a South Korean Democratic Party, represented the National Assembly in an improvisation trial by Attorney General Park Sung-jae on Tuesday, demanding that the court “quick confirmation of President Yoon Won's improvisation ruling date.”
Most people who maintain impeachment need at least the opinions of six judges.
Kim Seon-Taek, a law professor at the Korean University who specializes in the constitution, said its time proposal lacks consensus among judges.
“The court should have completed the writing opinion given the time to do so,” he told the Korea Herald.
Kim suggested that even if at least six judges agree to defend Yin's imprisonment each, one or two judges who oppose the president's imprisonment each may delay determining their objections.
Instead, if at least three of the eight judges oppose impeachment each, the left-leaning appointee Ma eun-hyuk could stagnate. Acting President Choi Sang-Mok so far has refused to approve the appointment, even though the court ruled that his non-action was unconstitutional.
Rep. Yoo Sang-Bum of the Ruler Power Party told reporters Wednesday that he believed in court that the judges had “contradictory opinions when deliberating the case”, given that the verdict was postponed for more than a week compared to previous cases.
Seoul Mayor OH Se-Hoon also believes there may be differences on the bench, telling TV Chosun on Monday that “consensus is already difficult to reach a consensus in some situations.” He added that some right-leaning judges in the court may be different from most.
If an early presidential election is held, oh, it is one of the potential conservative contenders.
However, Gunggiji Province Governor and former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yang said on Tuesday that the court's delay was due to “the process of its unanimous decision to minimize social divisions.”
Competitors’ parties are launching delays that the Constitutional Court is in their favor.
“There is no reason (the court) acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-Bae delays the ruling if the ruling is obtained (six judges) the minimum amount of consent is obtained,” Rep. Jang Dong-Hyeok, a ruling member, told reporters on Tuesday.
But Rep. Joe Hyun, a member of South Korea's main opposition Democrat, told MBC on Monday that she believes the Constitutional Court “has reached a conclusion to safeguard the impeachment, while the court is working internally to differentiate them with differentiation.
Regardless of the date of the Yoon improvisation verdict, South Korean authorities are preparing for any population violence while deepening social divisions. Acting President Choi Sang-Mok urged citizens to accept the verdict peacefully.
Police will mobilize about 20,000 riot police nationwide on the date of the improper each year and are working to clear the 100-meter radius around the Constitutional Court. In addition, Anguk Station 3 of the Seoul Metro Line will be temporarily closed from the Yoon ruling date.
In March 2017, the former former president of the park died on the same day as a result of fierce protests against the court ruling.
