Bae Bo-yoon (Yonhap)
Friday is the last working day before acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi retires, creating another vacancy in the originally nine-member justice bench. The court has been trying with only eight justices since the departure of ex-Chief Justice Park Han-chul on Jan. 31. The retired chief judge had warned of a “distorted outcome,” should another seat become vacant.
A decision to confirm the impeachment of President Park needs approval from at least six justices.
If the court upholds the parliamentary sacking of the conservative leader, the president will be thrown out of office immediately and an election will be held within 60 days.
If the court decides to reject it, Park will be reinstated and the presidential election will take place in December as originally scheduled.
Park is accused of letting her close friend Choi Soon-sil, who holds no government post, meddle in state affairs, colluding with her to extort donations from local conglomerates for the Choi-controlled entities -- the K-Sport and Mir foundations. Her charges also include a neglect of duty during the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, which left more than 300 dead or missing.
The trial, the second of its kind after former President Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment case, has lasted three months, with a total of 20 hearings bringing in 25 witnesses for courtroom questioning.
Since the closing arguments made on Feb. 27, the court has held closed-door deliberation sessions to look into the 13 charges levelled against Park by the parliament and whether her alleged violations of law and the Constitution were serious enough to warrant her permanent removal.
For confidentiality, the court’s eight justices will likely vote on the verdict at the very last minute before the hearing, having prepared two versions of the judgment – for and against the impeachment.
In the 2004 case of Roh, the court decided in favor of the embattled president. If it votes to oust Park, she will be South Korea’s first president to be forced out by impeachment.
By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)
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