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Impeachment trial against Prime Minister Han to begin on Jan. 13 amid multiple controversies

Published: 06 Jan. 2025, 13:30

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo leaves the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, after the impeachment motion against him was passed at the National Assembly plenary session on Dec. 27, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The Constitutional Court’s impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will begin on Jan. 13.

According to the legal community on Monday, the Constitutional Court scheduled the first preparation session for Han’s impeachment trial for 4 p.m. on Jan. 13.

The court also notified the National Assembly and Han’s defense team of the date.

During a trial preparation session, both sides of a case organize arguments and establish a trial plan, including evidence and witness requests. They are usually held two to three times before the formal trial. There is no obligation for the parties to attend.

Though the Constitutional Court says it will prioritize President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial, it has also indicated it will hasten Han's impeachment due to raging controversies over the impeachment quorum for an acting president and the appointment of new Constitutional Court justices Jo Han-chang and Jeong Gye-son.

Those controversies will likely be addressed during Han's impeachment.

On Dec. 27, the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Han with 192 votes in favor out of 300 members present, citing reasons such as “assisting the act of insurrection with martial law” and “refusing to appoint Constitutional Court justices.”

Before the vote, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik announced that the motion would pass if approved by a mere majority of those present as Han was the prime minister, not the elected president.

However, the People Power Party (PPP) argued that the impeachment motion's passage was invalid because it should have required the approval of more than two-thirds of the members present — or 200 seats — given that Han was the acting president.

PPP lawmakers also filed a request for a constitutional dispute trial and an injunction to suspend the impeachment motion, claiming that the motion was unfair.

President Yoon’s team argues that since the impeachment motion against Han was invalid, the appointment of the Constitutional Court justices by currently acting President Choi Sang-mok was also invalid.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]