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Constitutional Court attempts again and fails again to serve Yoon summons

Published: 19 Dec. 2024, 18:24

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Floral wreaths with banners expressing support for President Yoon Suk Yeol line a street outside the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Dec. 19. [YONHAP]

The Constitutional Court said Thursday that it had tried twice over the course of the day to serve President Yoon Suk Yeol with papers regarding his impeachment trial, marking its third and fourth attempts to deliver the documents to the suspended leader.

The court’s third attempt to officially notify Yoon of his impeachment, which took place in the morning, ended in failure after the presidential security service refused to accept the papers at his official residence in the morning, according to Constitutional Court spokesperson Lee Jin.

The delivery was then rerouted to the presidential office, where it was also rejected because the intended recipient, Yoon, was not there.

Lee said the papers were sent again to Yoon’s residence in the afternoon after the morning delivery failed.

According to the spokesperson, the court plans to decide on Dec. 23 whether it will consider the documents to have been delivered to Yoon regardless of whether he confirms he received them.

Yoon is required to submit his response to the documents within seven days, but that deadline has been pushed back due to the presidential security service’s refusal to accept the papers on his behalf.

The court’s justices held their first plenary meeting on the impeachment case against Yoon earlier on Thursday.

The meeting was held behind closed doors, but observers believe the justices likely discussed how the court should proceed if Yoon and his security detail continue to refuse acceptance of the impeachment papers.

President Yoon Suk Yeol's main lawyer and close acquaintance Seok Dong-hyeon speaks to reporters outside the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 19. [YONHAP]

The same day, Yoon’s main lawyer and close acquaintance Seok Dong-hyeon denied that the president had ordered the military to arrest his political opponents or drag lawmakers out from the National Assembly, where they gathered in the early hours of Dec. 4 to overturn his martial law decree.

“The president told me he never uttered the words ‘arrest’ or ‘drag them out,’” Seok said during an outdoor press conference in front of the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office, adding that Yoon “does not consider [his actions] to constitute an attempted insurrection from either a common-sense standpoint or in the eyes of the people.”

The way in which Yoon declared martial law contradicts claims that he had plotted an insurrection, Seok argued.

“What kind of insurrection begins with a president making a public address and ends just two to three hours later after the legislature tells him to stop?” Seok asked rhetorically.

The lawyer further claimed that the president’s orders to his martial law command “were worded in such a way as to prevent police and soldiers from clashing with civilians.”

Seok, who was the president’s classmate at Seoul National University Law School and has known him for over 40 years, claimed that though the president had “suffered deep indignities and obstacles while carrying out his official duties, his declaration of martial law was not an outburst tied to these frustrations.”

“He declared martial law because he believed the country to be in genuine crisis,” Seok said but did not offer more details about what kind of emergency spurred Yoon to issue his controversial decree.

When asked if the president plans to appear for questioning by the joint investigative headquarters set up by the police, Ministry of National Defense and Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, Seok said only that the president “would let people know after he finishes setting up his legal defense teams.”

Earlier in the week, Yoon rejected a summons for questioning by the joint task force that was scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Seok previously said Yoon plans to form separate legal teams to defend him before the Constitutional Court, which will oversee his impeachment trial, and to provide him with counsel as he undergoes multiple investigations.

However, Yoon has yet to formally name any lawyers who will aid him in his defense since being impeached on Saturday.

Seok denied that the president was stalling to delay the investigations and his impeachment trial, arguing that Yoon “needs to prepare thoroughly in order to respond” to the charges of insurrection and treason that have been levied against him.

The lawyer further argued that whether Yoon had violated the Constitution by declaring martial law was an issue that should be handled by the Constitutional Court, not the police or other investigative agencies.

Seok said he was “unaware” of Yoon’s failure to confirm his receipt of impeachment documents sent to him by the Constitutional Court, but added that the president “will likely do what he must when the right time comes.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]