Prime minister summoned to testify at additional hearing of Yoon's impeachment trial
Published: 14 Feb. 2025, 16:28
Updated: 14 Feb. 2025, 17:19
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
![Impeached Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, speaks at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 6. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/14/f1b0bd2c-0961-46cc-be9b-90d13f8cda4b.jpg)
Impeached Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, speaks at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 6. [YONHAP]
The Constitutional Court on Friday accepted a request from President Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyers to hear Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s testimony during an additional hearing scheduled for Thursday next week.
Han, whose own impeachment trial is also currently underway, is one of three witnesses approved by the court to speak during the 10th hearing, which was scheduled for 2 p.m. on Feb. 20 by the court during a closed-door meeting between the eight justices on Friday morning.
The court’s acceptance of Han as a witness marks a reversal of its previous decision to exclude the prime minister from the trial. That rejection was met with strong objections from Yoon’s legal team.
The other two witnesses are former National Intelligence Service (NIS) First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won and National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho.
The addition of the 10th hearing to hear from the three witnesses means that Yoon’s impeachment trial will likely wrap up in mid-March.
Cho was scheduled to speak at the trial’s eighth hearing on Thursday but declined to appear, citing health-related issues.
His attendance was requested again by Yoon’s lawyers, who have called on the court to forcibly summon him.
Though Hong already spoke at the trial’s fifth hearing on Feb. 4, Yoon’s lawyers have asked the court to summon him again to resolve discrepancies between his testimony and that of NIS chief Cho Tae-yong.
At the eighth hearing held on Thursday, Cho said he believed Hong did not tell the truth during his earlier appearance before the court.
Han is due to testify Thursday at 2 p.m., followed by Hong at 4 p.m. and Commissioner General Cho at 5:30 p.m.
However, the court declined to admit three other witnesses submitted by Yoon’s lawyers, citing their lack of ties to the impeachment case.
The court’s decision to hold a 10th hearing came a day after acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae said that the court would hold a ninth session at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, to review documentary evidence that had not yet been examined.
Moon also said lawyers for Yoon and the National Assembly’s impeachment investigation committee would be given two hours each at the ninth hearing to present their arguments based on testimonies and evidence presented to the court over the previous eight hearings.
![President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the seventh hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 11. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/02/14/701c538a-2d73-449d-b95b-c4c55974c89c.jpg)
President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the seventh hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Feb. 11. [NEWS1]
Several members of Yoon’s defense team, such as Yoon Gap-geun, Seok Dong-hyun and Hwang Kyo-ahn, are involved in both his impeachment trial and his criminal trial.
The addition of two hearings at the Constitutional Court next week means that the impeachment trial’s concluding session is likely to take place at the end of the month.
The court is then expected to adjourn for one or two weeks before announcing its verdict in early or mid-March.
If six or more of the court’s current eight justices vote to uphold Yoon’s impeachment, he will be removed immediately from office.
An election must then be held within 60 days to choose his successor.
BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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