All eyes on Constitutional Court on eve of historic Yoon impeachment ruling

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All eyes on Constitutional Court on eve of historic Yoon impeachment ruling

Published: 03 Apr. 2025, 19:25 Updated: 03 Apr. 2025, 21:08

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Police stand guard outside the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 3. [NEWS1]

For the second time in less than a decade, Koreans find themselves bracing for a historic ruling by the Constitutional Court on a presidential impeachment.

The court on Thursday entered the final stage of preparations for its ultimate decision on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s fate, which is expected to be known a little after 11 a.m. on Friday, when the reading of the verdict begins.

Though the eight justices had already reached a consensus on what the outcome should be when the court announced the date of the ruling on Tuesday, they spent the two following days finalizing the text of their decision and its supporting logic, according to legal sources.

The court can rule to uphold, overturn or reject the National Assembly’s impeachment motion against Yoon, which accuses him of illegally declaring martial law on Dec. 3, attempting to unlawfully suspend all political activities, sending special forces to prevent lawmakers from overturning his decree, deploying troops to the National Election Commission and ordering the arrest of high-ranking politicians and judges.

If at least six justices find that at least one of these five charges applies to Yoon — and determine it constitutes a grave violation of the Constitution — he would be stripped of his office.

However, if five or fewer justices vote in favor of his impeachment, Yoon would be reinstated.

Due to the sensitive nature of Yoon’s impeachment, the court initially decided to ban all press coverage of the justices’ movements on the day of the verdict.

However, it eventually backtracked following media pressure and internal discussions. As such, accredited journalists will be allowed to film or report on the justices’ arrival at the court and entry into the main chamber where they will deliver their ruling.

In a sign of high general interest in the upcoming ruling, 90,000 people applied for 20 seats reserved by the court for members of the public who want to witness the verdict firsthand.

By comparison, 19,096 people applied for 24 seats to attend the reading of the court’s verdict on former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment in 2017.

Yoon will not attend Friday’s ruling due to “concerns over public safety and his own personal security,” according to the presidential office on Thursday.

Police buses block the roads leading to Anguk Station intersection, which lies just south of the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 3. [YONHAP]

Given its constitutional and political significance, the reading of the verdict by the presiding justice will be broadcast live.

In previous televised Constitutional Court rulings, the presiding judge announced the court’s decision at the end of the verdict after reviewing all of the justices’ findings.

As such, there is a high probability that Yoon’s dismissal — or reinstatement — will only be known after the justices’ conclusions on each of the five impeachment charges have been read aloud.

But this is not an ironclad rule.

Justice Kim Hyung-du announced the court’s March 24 decision to reinstate acting President Han Duck-soo’s impeachment at the start of the verdict reading.

As the presiding judge in Yoon’s case, Justice Cheong Hyung-sik is expected to deliver the court’s majority opinion.

However, if Cheong is in the minority, another justice in the majority is expected to read the opinion.

Cheong is widely considered to be part of the court’s conservative wing alongside justices Cho Han-chang and Kim Bok-hyeong, while justices Moon Hyung-bae, Lee Mi-son, Jung Jung-mi and Chung Kye-sun are considered to be liberally inclined.

Dissenting, separate or concurring opinions will also be recorded in the final verdict.

The court’s decision takes effect at the exact moment it is pronounced.

In the case of Park’s impeachment, then-Justice Lee Jung-mi began reading the verdict around 11 a.m. and declared the court’s decision to dismiss the president at 11:21 a.m. She further noted the time to mark Park’s removal from office.

Should the court rule to uphold Yoon’s impeachment, not only would he be removed from office, but he would also lose all of the privileges accorded to former presidents, such as his substantial state pension and burial place in the National Cemetery.

He would also have to vacate his official residence, located in the Hannam-dong area of Yongsan District, central Seoul, though there is no deadline for him to move out.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]