The Constitutional Court and the courts are set to issue rulings on major cases this week. Following the ruling on the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, a ruling on the appeal regarding Representative Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act is also scheduled. Additionally, speculations have arisen that the ruling on President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial will also take place this week.
According to the legal community on the 23rd, the Constitutional Court will announce its decision on Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial at 10 a.m. on the 24th in the Grand Bench Room. This ruling will come 87 days after the case was accepted, and 33 days after the conclusion of the argument process on Feb. 19.
Prime Minister Han was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 27 last year. The National Assembly cited the reasons for his impeachment as aiding President Yoon's declaration of a state of emergency on Dec. 3 and refusal to appoint Constitutional Court justices.
Two days after the ruling on Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial, on the 26th, the 6-2 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Directors General Choi Eun-jung, Lee Ye-seul, and Jeong Jae-o) will announce the ruling on Representative Lee's appeal regarding the violation of the Public Official Election Act.
Representative Lee was indicted on charges of disseminating false information regarding the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong development project allegations during the process of the 20th presidential election. He is accused of saying that there was 'pressure from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport' regarding preferential treatment for the change of use of the Korea Food Research Institute site in Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, and claiming that he 'did not play golf overseas' with the late Kim Moon-ki, former head of the development department of the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation.
The first trial issued a sentence of 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation for Representative Lee in November last year, equivalent to a disqualification from election. If a fine of over 1 million won for violating the Public Official Election Act is confirmed by the Supreme Court, the right to be elected will be restricted for the next 10 years.
In the second trial, the prosecution sought a 2-year prison sentence for Representative Lee.
There are speculations that the Constitutional Court may rule on President Yoon's case as early as this week. However, legal experts believe that since the ruling date for Prime Minister Han's case is set for the 24th, the court likely will not rule on President Yoon's case between the 24th and 25th. This is due to the rarity of the Constitutional Court scheduling back-to-back rulings on major cases.
If the Constitutional Court rules on President Yoon's case this week, predictions suggest it could take place on Thursday (27th), when the arguments were primarily scheduled, or Friday (28th), when the case regarding a former president was ruled. Considering the court's usual practice of notifying the parties about 2 to 3 days in advance, it could inform them on the 24th and rule on the 26th. However, the 26th is already scheduled for Representative Lee's ruling, making this possibility unlikely.
The Constitutional Court may also decide to continue discussions on President Yoon's case, potentially pushing it into early April. However, Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and Justice Im Ee-sun will retire on the 18th of next month.