Constitutional Court to hold first hearing on Pres. Yoon’s impeachment

The Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial process for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been suspended from his duties following the passage of the impeachment bill in the National Assembly, will officially commence on December 27.

The Constitutional Court announced on Monday that it held a justices’ meeting in the morning and referred the impeachment trial case of President Yoon to the preparatory procedure for the hearing. The first preparatory hearing date has been set for 2:00 p.m. on December 27. This is 13 days after the impeachment bill passed in the National Assembly was submitted to the Constitutional Court. Similarly, the first preparatory hearing in the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye was held 13 days after submission. This move reflects the court’s intention to proceed promptly, recognizing the gravity of the “impeachment of a sitting president.”

The preparatory hearing is a procedure aimed at organizing the claims and evidence of the parties involved in advance and eliminating overlapping issues to ensure the trial proceeds efficiently and swiftly. Justices Lee Mi-sun and Jeong Hyeong-sik have been designated to oversee the preparatory procedure.

Through the preparatory procedure, the justices plan to swiftly secure investigative records from the prosecution and police and proceed with an expedited trial. The first preparatory hearing will be open to the public, but there is no obligation for the parties to attend. “Notifications of receipt and requests for a response statement from the respondent (President Yoon) are currently underway,” said Lee Jin, the spokesperson for the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court also announced that it would prioritize the impeachment trial of President Yoon over other ongoing impeachment trials, including those of Lee Jin-sook, chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, and Lee Chang-soo, chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office. Additionally, a task force comprising about 10 members, led by a senior constitutional researcher, has been organized to handle the case.


김자현 zion37@donga.com