'Constitutional Court Holds First Meeting with 8 Members Ahead of 'Yoon Impeachment Trial'

Police are controlling access in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, which has become an 8-member system with the inauguration of new Constitutional Court Justices Cho Han-chang and Jeong Gye-seon on the 2nd./Photo=Kim Beom-jun Reporter

The Constitutional Court is gearing up for the formal hearing of President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial by holding a meeting of justices.

According to the legal community, the Constitutional Court will hold a meeting of justices on the 6th. This is the first meeting since Justices Cho Han-chang and Jeong Gye-seon began their terms on the 1st, forming an 8-member system.

Previously, Cheon Jae-hyeon, the spokesperson for the Constitutional Court, stated that "the full bench is sharing the current situation and addressing the vacancies in various committees." The meeting is expected to cover major cases such as the impeachment trial of President Yoon and Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, the power dispute over the National Assembly's quorum for impeachment related to the acting president, the power dispute over the investigation of insurrection charges against President Yoon by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, and the constitutional petition regarding the acting president's appointment power of constitutional court justices.

Additionally, it is anticipated that the issues organized through the second preparatory hearing conducted by Justices Jeong Hyeong-sik and Lee Mi-seon on the 3rd in the impeachment trial of President Yoon, as well as the review of both sides' responses and opinions, and matters related to witness selection, will be discussed.

The National Assembly's decision to withdraw the criminal law violations, including insurrection charges, which were included in the impeachment proposal, and to focus solely on constitutional violations related to martial law declaration, is also expected to be a topic of discussion among the justices.

The People Power Party announced that it would visit the Constitutional Court to protest the exclusion of 'insurrection charges' from the impeachment reasons by the National Assembly's impeachment prosecution team. The People Power Party argues that the exclusion of insurrection charges significantly undermines the identity of the impeachment facts and that the Constitutional Court should dismiss the impeachment proposal.

Based on this, the justices will review various documents and witness applications submitted by both sides, preparing for President Yoon's impeachment trial, which will be held twice a week starting with the first hearing on the 14th. Five hearing dates have already been set until February 4.

If President Yoon attends the first hearing on the 14th in person, discussions with the Presidential Security Service regarding security are expected to take place this week. Although President Yoon's duties were suspended after the impeachment proposal was passed in the National Assembly on the 14th of last month, security and protocol remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, President Yoon's side stated the previous day, "The President plans to attend and express his opinion at an appropriate date."

Kim So-yeon Hankyung.com Reporter sue123@hankyung.com