Court sticks to schedule for Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial

The Constitutional Court of Korea announced its intention Tuesday to proceed with its 10th hearing as planned on Thursday, increasing expectations that a decision on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment would be made in March.

Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court, said during the ninth impeachment trial hearing Tuesday that the court schedule was packed, with hearings on various trials already scheduled four days a week, and the court is expected to examine three witnesses at Thursday's hearing.

His comment suggests it will not be possible to reschedule or extend proceedings beyond Thursday.

However, later during the hearing, Moon and attorneys at the National Assembly conceded to the request by Yoon's legal team to delay its starting time by an hour to 3 p.m. Thursday.

This came as Yoon's legal team again requested that the court delay the 10th hearing, saying the team feared Yoon's lawyers might be unable to arrive at the impeachment trial courtroom if the criminal trial proceeding earlier on Thursday morning takes longer than expected.

Yoon's criminal trial proceedings will begin Thursday at 10 a.m at Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul. Before making its concession to Yoon's legal team, Moon said that Yoon's lawyers were unlikely to be short on time as the Constitutional Court hearing in northern Seoul takes place in the afternoon.

Yoon's team earlier claimed that its "right to defense" was being violated as Yoon's criminal trial and impeachment trial were taking place on the same day, after the court confirmed last week that it would hold two additional hearings on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

At the 10th hearing, impeached ex-Prime Minister and ex-acting President Han Duck-soo, former First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service Hong Jang-won and impeached Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency Cho Ji-ho will testify as witnesses.

According to the court, a warrant has been issued to allow Cho, who failed to appear as a witness in the court's previous attempts since being detained in December, to testify at Thursday's hearing.

During Tuesday's court hearing, lawyers representing the National Assembly said Yoon failed to safeguard the values of democracy and the rule of law by attempting to dissolve the legislature while violating the Constitution. Yoon's representatives claimed election manipulation occurred during the 2024 general election as hybrid war was at play in South Korea.

Yoon, who is currently indicted on charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power while behind bars, did not physically appear in the hearing. He arrived at the court but did not enter the courtroom, returning to the detention center after realising his presence was not needed at Tuesday's hearing, his lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said Tuesday. The ninth hearing was held for legal representatives of both sides to summarize their arguments from the first eight hearings.