Kim Jeong-won, Secretary-General of the Constitutional Court, said on the 31st that the Constitutional Court judges are carefully reviewing the impeachment case of President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Minister Kim attended the full meeting of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee that afternoon and, in response to a question from ruling party member Park Jun-tae, noted, “Several deliberations are underway, and discussions and reviews are being conducted in depth,” adding, “Given the national interest and significant impact of this case, we are reviewing it with utmost caution.”
The Constitutional Court has been reviewing the impeachment trial of President Yoon since concluding the arguments on the 25th of last month.
Minister Kim stated that “deliberations among the judges are being held frequently and always as needed,” but refrained from disclosing exactly how many times they have occurred or the current stage of the deliberations.
He remarked, “We cannot know the content of the deliberations,” and added, “As the court, we are doing our best with the tasks entrusted to us.”
In response to a query about whether the Constitutional Court would deliver a ruling on the impeachment of President Yoon by April 18, when Justices Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-seon are scheduled to retire, he stated, “Our basic goal is to conduct all trials as quickly as possible.” He avoided directly answering regarding the specific timing of the ruling, saying, “I am not in a position to comment on that.”
Regarding the constitutional court reform bill being pushed by the opposition Democratic Party and others, he said, “It is currently under internal review,” and added, “There is no official position yet.” The Democratic Party presented two constitutional court reform bills at the afternoon session of the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, including a provision that prevents the acting president from nominating new constitutional court justices (proposed by Representative Kim Yong-min) and a provision that mandates the president to appoint justices elected by the National Assembly within seven days, with the assumption that they are appointed if not.
Additionally, Minister Kim responded regarding the failure of Acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to appoint Justice nominee Ma Eun-hyuk, saying, “I have previously stated that the failure to appoint (the nominee) in the impeachment trial against Prime Minister Han is a violation of the Constitution and laws,” and noted, “I hope that it will operate according to constitutional procedures.” In response to questioning by Democratic Party member Kim Yong-min about whether the content of the deliberations was being leaked, he countered, “There is not the slightest fact of that.”