Court dismisses request from Yoon's lawyers to exclude Justice Jung Gye-seon from trial

Justices of the Constitutional Court are seated at the bench for the first formal hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. (Yonhap)
Justices of the Constitutional Court are seated at the bench for the first formal hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Tuesday. (Yonhap)

The Constitutional Court of Korea on Tuesday began President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial with its first formal hearing, which concluded in just four minutes due to Yoon’s absence.

“Due to the absence of the defendant, we will not proceed with the hearing in accordance with Article 52 of the Constitutional Court Act. The next hearing will be on the 16th at 2 p.m., and based on Clause 2 of Article 52, the proceedings will take place regardless of the attendance of the parties involved,” announced Moon Hyung-bae, the court’s acting chief.

Tuesday’s hearing came 31 days after the court received the impeachment case. Yoon’s attendance had been widely anticipated, as his lawyers previously emphasized that he intended to defend himself in court. However, just two days before the hearing, Yoon’s legal team announced he would not attend, citing security concerns. They argued that investigators might attempt to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon if he appeared at the court in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

During the hearing, all eight justices were present despite a request from Yoon’s legal representatives to exclude Justice Jung Gye-seon from the case. The request, filed Sunday, cited Jung’s progressive leanings as grounds for exclusion.

“(The request) has been dismissed based on the unanimous opinion of the seven other justices,” Moon stated during the trial.

Yoon Kab-geun, one of Yoon's lawyers, told reporters following the trial that he "highly doubted the fairness and neutrality" of the trial.

"We deeply regret the dismissal of (the request to exclude Jung) without any particular reason. This is neither consistent with legal principles, fairness, nor common sense, and I would like to express that," Yoon told reporters.

Earlier that day, the court’s press officer Cheon Jae-yeon told reporters that Moon had convened a meeting among the justices Tuesday morning to discuss the matter.

“Under related law, trial proceedings are paused while the court decides whether to accept or dismiss a request for a justice’s exclusion. However, the court’s dismissal of such a request cannot be appealed,” Cheon explained during the press briefing. She noted that while defendants have previously sought to exclude justices, no such requests have ever been granted.

During the 2017 impeachment trial of then-President Park Geun-hye, her lawyers similarly requested the exclusion of Justice Kang Il-won, citing bias. That request was dismissed within 15 minutes, with the court noting it as an attempt to delay the trial.

In response to another request from Yoon’s team raising the issue over the court having designated all five hearing dates, Moon said that “the trial is taking place at the Constitutional Court, and this follows the court’s rules under Clause 3 of Article 30 in the Constitutional Court Act.”

After the trial, Yoon's lawyer told reporters that "there was no reason for the court to designate all dates in a hurry," arguing that the court could have scheduled the hearings after listening to the opinions of each side involved.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly’s impeachment committee, which acts as the prosecutor in Yoon’s trial, submitted a list of witnesses and evidence ahead of Tuesday’s hearing. Witnesses include Hong Jang-won, the first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service; Cho Ji-ho, commissioner of the National Police Agency; Kwak Jong-geun, commander of the Army’s Special Warfare Command; Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defense Command; and Yeo In-hyung, chief of the Defense Counterintelligence Command.

The Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide whether to uphold or overturn Yoon’s impeachment. Five hearings are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays through Feb. 5. If the court upholds the impeachment, Yoon will be removed from office and a snap presidential election must be held within 60 days. If the impeachment is dismissed, Yoon will be reinstated.