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PPP lawmakers anticipate dismissal as Yoon impeachment deliberations drag on

Published: 19 Mar. 2025, 18:49 Updated: 19 Mar. 2025, 19:02

LEE SOO-JUNG
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From left: Conservative People Power Party Reps. Park Dae-chul, Na Kyung-won and Eom Tae-young hold an outdoor relay protest to urge the Constitutional Court to dismiss President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment case in front of the court in central Seoul on March 18. [YONHAP]

Conservative People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers increasingly believe the Constitutional Court will dismiss the case against President Yoon Suk Yeol out of hand rather than simply rejecting the impeachment as the court takes longer than expected to reach a decision.

Some PPP lawmakers previously believed that the case warranted the Constitutional Court's consideration, though they also believed Yoon's martial law declaration didn't violate the Constitution.

However, they now believe that Yoon's case fails to meet several legal requirements for adjudication and that the investigations and proceedings lacked due process. Accordingly, they are now pondering new arguments calling for the case to be dismissed outright.

This stance is even harder-line than their previous one, arguing that dismissal is the only logical conclusion given the flawed investigation and unmet procedural requirements.

The lawmakers' position shifted after the Seoul Central District Court ruled to release Yoon from custody on March 7.

The anti-impeachment faction appears to believe that emphasizing the alleged procedural flaws in the case will boost the odds of their side winning and keeping Yoon in power.

On Monday, PPP Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun said other rulings except the case’s dismissal were “unlikely.” PPP Rep. Joo Jin-woo said the “possibility of dismissal due to the case's incompleteness has grown larger.”

During a TV appearance, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, a PPP member, predicted two of the court's eight justices would dismiss the case after consideration, and one would toss it out before consideration. He also denied he favored the impeachment, calling the accusation a “rumor.”

Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol waves to his supporters upon his release from Seoul Detention Center in Gyeonggi on March 8. [NEWS1]

PPP lawmakers reportedly rely on the judicial statement ordering Yoon's release from detention to support their calls for dismissal.

Ji Gui-yeon, the senior Seoul Central District Court judge who approved Yoon’s release, called for "procedural clarity and resolving doubts about the legality" of the investigation into the president, particularly regarding the CIO's authority to investigate insurrection charges and the calculation of detention periods.

Specifically, the district court ruled that Yoon’s custody should have ended at 9:07 a.m. on Jan. 26, calculating that a detention warrant is valid for 240 hours.

Last week, 82 PPP lawmakers, including heavyweights such as Rep. Na Kyung-won, submitted petitions demanding the dismissal of Yoon's impeachment case, arguing that “Yoon’s release from illegal detention signals the restoration of judicial values and legal due course.”

During a press conference at the National Assembly on Wednesday, Rep. Na blamed the Constitutional Court for not abiding by procedural rules, criticizing the “lawless and arbitrary process.

“The Constitutional Court needs the rule of law and principle,” she said.

She later told reporters that extended deliberation at the court means that justices have several issues to review and discuss, possibly including whether the hearings and investigations followed due process.

Pro-Yoon Suk Yeol protesters hold Korean and American flags and demand the Constitutional Court dismiss the impeachment case against Yoon in front of the court in central Seoul on March 18. [NEWS1]

PPP lawmakers opposing impeachment said the liberal Democratic Party’s (DP) decision to retract insurrection charges from its impeachment filing changed the nature of the case. They said it made the Constitutional Court adjudicate Yoon’s impeachment on different grounds as the key charge in the impeachment bill, insurrection charges, was dropped.

In January, the DP withdrew insurrection charges from its impeachment filing to the Constitutional Court to let a criminal court decide on Yoon's alleged insurrection per the criminal code and the Constitutional Court determine whether his martial law decree violated the Constitution, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The PPP has also speculated how the justices might rule based on their political inclinations. If three justices rule in favor of Yoon or dismiss the case, Yoon will reassume office.

They reportedly believe that three liberal-leaning justices — Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-son, Chung Kye-sun — will rule in favor of the parliament while two conservative-leaning justices — Cheong Hyung-sik, Cho Han-chang — will side with Yoon.

“One or more of the three remaining justices deemed to be swing voters or centrists could dismiss the case, arguing that it lacks the legal elements to fall under the Constitutional Court’s purview,” a PPP official said.

Constitutional Court justices sit in the main chamber at the court for a questioning session to judge the validity of the impeachment of Justice Minister Park Sung-jae in central Seoul on March 18. [JANG JIN-YOUNG]

Yoon and his legal team also argued that the impeachment bill's passage lacked due process.

For example, they argued that voting twice on a motion during the same legislative session represented double jeopardy.

The National Assembly passed the impeachment motion on Dec. 14, a week after its first attempt on Dec. 7 failed to reach quorum.

Yoon’s side also claimed that former Army Special Warfare Commander Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun and former National Intelligence Service First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won gave false testimony at the Constitutional Court hearings.

The president’s team said both witnesses wrongly accused Yoon of ordering soldiers to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly who were at the parliament to lift martial law.

BY KIM JUN-YOUNG, LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]