The Constitutional Court will deliver a ruling on the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at 10 a.m. on the 24th. Attention is drawn to whether the justices of the Constitutional Court will reveal their perceptions regarding the emergency martial law imposed on December 3.
Prime Minister Han was impeached by the National Assembly on December 27 last year. The National Assembly included the accusation that Prime Minister Han aided President Yoon Suk-yeol in declaring the emergency martial law as grounds for impeachment. Furthermore, the impeachment was based on five reasons, including that Prime Minister Han refused the appointment of a nominee for the Constitutional Court elected by the National Assembly and evaded the appointment of a special prosecutor for insurrection.
It remains to be seen whether the Constitutional Court will include judicial judgments regarding the martial law in its ruling. The court has not announced the date for President Yoon's ruling, who was impeached before Prime Minister Han. Analysts suggest that the ruling document for Prime Minister Han could provide insights into the justices' perceptions of the emergency martial law.
Additionally, the legal community is focused on how the Constitutional Court will judge the 'required quorum for the impeachment of the Prime Minister, who is acting on behalf of the President.' The National Assembly impeached Prime Minister Han based on the required quorum for impeachment (151 seats), but Prime Minister Han's side argues that the quorum for the President (200 seats) should have been applied since Prime Minister Han was serving as acting president at that time.
If the Constitutional Court upholds the National Assembly's impeachment, Prime Minister Han will be immediately dismissed. In this case, the acting leadership will continue under Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok. For the ruling to be upheld, a majority of 6 out of the 8 current justices must agree. Conversely, if the Constitutional Court dismisses the case, Prime Minister Han will immediately return to duty, resolving the so-called 'acting's acting' situation where Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok took the role after Prime Minister Han.
Meanwhile, this week is expected to be significant, with important rulings from the Constitutional Court and courts scheduled. Starting with the Constitutional Court's ruling on Prime Minister Han's impeachment trial on this day, a ruling on the appeal for law violations related to public office by Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, is set for the 26th. In the first trial of this case, Lee received a sentence of 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation. If the same sentence is imposed in the appeal and subsequently confirmed by the Supreme Court, Lee will be deprived of the right to run for office for 10 years. There is also a possibility that the Constitutional Court will designate a ruling date for President Yoon's impeachment trial later this week.