Constitutional Court Immediately Reviews Yoon's Impeachment... Moon Hyung-bae: "Swift and Fair Trial"

Judges' Meeting Convened Next Monday

Discussion on Designation of Chief Judge and Case Schedule

Moon Hyung-bae, Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (pictured), stated on the 14th regarding the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol submitted to the court, "We will conduct a swift and fair trial."

A court official reported in a briefing held shortly after National Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Jung Cheong-rae submitted the original copy of the impeachment resolution against President Yoon to the court, "At 18:15 today, the original copy of the impeachment resolution against President Yoon Seok-yeol was submitted to the court, and Acting Chief Justice Moon made this statement upon its receipt."

Acting Chief Justice Moon announced, "I will convene a judges' meeting next Monday (16th) at around 10 a.m. to discuss the case schedule," and added, "After referring the case to the preparatory procedures for trial, we will designate two judges to handle evidence investigation and form a task force (TF) of constitutional researchers." The size of the TF has not been determined.

It is expected that the chief judge will also be designated at next week's judges' meeting. The chief judge is determined by a random draw using a computer electronic allocation system. Although the court generally does not disclose the chief judge, it is anticipated that they will do so considering the importance of the case. During the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2016, the chief judge was former Justice Kang Il-won.

The constitutional judges immediately began reviewing the impeachment motion against President Yoon submitted today. Unlike general constitutional complaints, impeachment trial cases are immediately referred to the full bench without a preliminary review. However, during the weekend, they will not go to the court but will review the matter from home. A court official added, "The details reviewed over the weekend are confidential," and "We will inform you of the subsequent procedures as they progress."

The National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol today. The impeachment motion against the president requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the total members (300), and 204 votes were in favor. There were 85 votes against, 3 abstentions, and 8 invalid votes. This is the third time in the history of the constitution that an impeachment motion against a sitting president has been passed by the National Assembly, following former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun (2004) and Park Geun-hye (2016).

The court must decide on the impeachment of the president within a maximum of 180 days from the day the impeachment resolution is received. It took 63 days from the filing to the ruling for former President Roh, and 91 days for former President Park. It is likely that a conclusion will be reached before the terms of Acting Chief Justice Moon and Justice Lee Mi-seon end on April 18 next year.

If the court accepts the National Assembly's impeachment decision, President Yoon will be removed from office according to the constitution, and a presidential election must be held within 60 days. If the court dismisses the impeachment, the impeachment motion is immediately nullified, and President Yoon can return to his duties.

Reporter Jang Seo-woo suwu@hankyung.com