Former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong noted on the 12th regarding the impeachment trial procedure of President Yoon Suk-yeol, "The Constitutional Court must first resolve the quorum issue of Acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo," pointing out issues of unfairness and bias. This is interpreted as a message to encompass President Yoon's support base.
On that day in the morning, former Minister Won held a press conference at the National Assembly communication center, stating, "If the quorum for impeachment is 200 seats, then the impeachment of one acting prime minister becomes null and void, to the extent that it was never there, it does not exist.
This is the first time that Minister Won has held a press conference at the National Assembly since the party convention on July 23 last year. Minister Won, a key figure aligned with the pro-Yoon faction, effectively resumed political activities by participating in a protest against the arrest at the residence in Hannam-dong last month.
He said, "The Constitutional Court must not delay and run away from judgments on this critical issue," adding, "You must build the first floor to reach the top. If you try to build the top without constructing the first floor, that building will inevitably collapse."
He further stated, "The Republic of Korea is not a dictatorship that forces the sovereign people to follow orders from someone who will make the appointment of Constitutional Court judges itself invalid based on the quorum judgment; the people will not tolerate judicial dictatorship or parliamentary dictatorship."
Regarding the resumption of the arguments in the case concerning the non-appointment of Constitutional Court candidate Ma Eun-hyeok, he criticized it as a "self-appointment attempt by Ma Eun-hyeok."
He said, "If the impeachment of one acting prime minister is null and void, then the appointment of this (Ma Eun-hyeok) is also invalid; we cannot have a coercive trial of the 'What will you do?' kind."
He also claimed that the Constitutional Court must ensure that President Yoon has sufficient opportunities to reveal the truth regarding arguments and hearing times.
He stated, "The Constitutional Court dismissed additional witnesses requested by the president's side and hastily concluded testimonies in just 30 minutes, despite key witnesses providing conflicting statements, which only left the people more confused rather than revealing the truth of that day."
He pointed out, "Speeding up the process while blatantly violating the laws of the Constitutional Court by using evidence from the prosecution that the president's side does not agree with and preventing access to investigation records is an act that the people cannot accept."
Finally, former Minister Won stated, "The Constitutional Court must become a truth court, and trials must be conducted in the 'room of truth,'" emphasizing that, "Conscience is not subjective and arbitrary; it must be objective, reasonable, and guaranteed to silence rational doubts of the sovereign people."
He added, "The sovereign people will never tolerate the judicial dictatorship of the eight Constitutional Court justices."
In a Q&A session held right after the press conference, when asked if it could be considered a walk toward an early presidential election, he said, "I have thought it urgent because tomorrow (13th) could be the end of the argument day."
He emphasized, "It is most important right now to make sure that we have a fair trial," stating, "Accordingly, I believe the return of President Yoon should be prioritized."
Regarding concerns that "Criticism of the Constitutional Court could lead to a decline in trust in the judiciary," he pointed out, "I do not know what the Constitutional Court is being pushed by, but submitting a formal conclusion on a one-sided deadline and telling the people to follow is not integration but rather inciting division among the people."
He added, "I think we need to humbly reflect on where the current distrust in the judiciary began and take necessary measures."