This case is an impeachment case, so I will check the time of the ruling before reading the order.
On the 4th, Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae of the Constitutional Court will confirm the exact time down to the minute before reading the ruling on the impeachment trial result of President Yoon Suk-yeol. This is because the moment Chief Justice Moon reads the order, it will be determined whether President Yoon is removed from office or will return to the presidency.
According to the Constitutional Court Practice Digest on the 3rd, the effect of the impeachment ruling takes effect immediately upon the reading of the ruling result, the order. Accordingly, the Constitutional Court is writing the timing of the ruling down to minutes to clarify the effective time of the ruling.
This practice has not been in place since the inception of the Constitutional Court. The impeachment ruling document of former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 only recorded 'May 14,' without specifying the time.
In contrast, the ruling document for the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye states the ruling date and time as '2017. 3. 10. 11:21.' This time is when Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi read the sentence 'Order: We remove the impeached President Park Geun-hye.' It is said to be the first time that the ruling time has been included. This decision was made to prevent potential legal disputes related to the timing of the ruling effect.
On the 24th of last month, Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae also confirmed the exact time before reading the ruling on the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo held at the Constitutional Court. Chief Justice Moon noted before revealing the dismissal decision, 'Since this is an impeachment case, I will confirm the time of the ruling.' The ruling document on Prime Minister Han, which was subsequently released, accurately recorded the time down to the minute as '2025.3.24. 10:01,' which was the time Chief Justice Moon confirmed.
The ruling document on the dismissal of Prosecutor General Lee Chang-soo also specifies the ruling date and time as '2025.3.13. 10:45.' The ruling document for the Board of Audit and Inspection's Chairperson Choi Jae-hae, who received the impeachment dismissal ruling ahead of Prosecutor General Lee, states the ruling date and time as '2025.3.13. 10:02.'
In this regard, a legal professional said, 'Due to the nature of the Constitutional Court's decisions, individuals can immediately lose their status or be reinstated depending on the impeachment outcome, so the Chief Justice clarifying this is to prevent confusion caused by temporal discrepancies.'