Park Han-chul, the outgoing chief of the Constitutional Court, said Wednesday the final ruling on President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment should be made by March 13, which in turn will bring forward a presidential election as early as late April. 

“If the court proceedings are prolonged, the court faces a situation where only seven justices will hear the case,” Park said during the ninth hearing of the president’s impeachment trial, citing Justice Lee Jung-mi whose term ends on March 13. 

It was the last hearing presided by the chief justice Park whose term ends Tuesday. A ruling to impeach or reinstate Park requires consent from six of the court’s nine justices. 

“A decision by the Constitutional Court is made after a fierce debate among the nine judges, so each justice plays a crucial role,” he said. “In the event of an additional vacancy of a justice, this does not simply mean the absence of one person, but it could distort the final verdict.”If the court upholds the impeachment, the presidential election will be held within 60 days, either in late April or early May. If Park Geun-hye is reinstated, the election will be held in December as originally scheduled. 

Calling it an “emergency” situation that hurts the Constitutional spirit, the chief justice also criticized the National Assembly for failing to enact a law stipulating the terms of justices at the Constitutional Court, therefore causing the absence of a chief justice in such a significant trial for the country.

“There should be a legislative measure to prevent the absence of a justice at the Constitutional Court. We would not be in this situation if the National Assembly made relevant legislation,” he said.

The court had its chief justice missing for one year and four months in 2014, which the court said deprived defendants of the chance to be heard by the nine judges. 

The court also rejected 29 of the 39 witnesses requested by Park Geun-hye’s lawyers during the previous hearing, putting a brake on what appears to be the president’s attempt to delay court proceedings. 

In response, the president’s lawyer Lee Joong-hwan raised concerns over the neutrality and fairness of the trial, even citing the possibility of under-the-table communication between the court and the parliamentary impeachment committee. 

The court furiously shot back, calling the claim “groundless” and “a contempt of court.” 

Park’s lawyers later told reporters that Park should be given an “equal” opportunity to be tried by the nine-judge court, calling on acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn to appoint the new judges to fill the two vacancies. 

“The court should not stress rapidity at the expense of the fairness of the trial,” the lawyer lee said. 

Park Geun-hye was impeached by the parliament on Dec. 9 over allegations that she allowed her confidante Choi Soon-sil to meddle in state affairs and extorted donations from local firms for foundations controlled by Choi. Park was stripped of executive powers, but remains immune from criminal liability, which critics see as the reason behind the delay tactic. 

The top court has three more hearings left in February to question Kim Ki-choon, ex-Health and Welfare Minister Moon Hyung-phyo and officials from the entities linked to Choi. 

During the hearing, Yoo Jin-ryong, an ex-culture and sports minister, offered testimonies that President Park Geun-hye constantly ordered him to fire government officials unfavorable to Choi’s daughter Chung Yoo-ra. 

The officials conducted an audit in the equestrian race in which Chung Yoo-ra took the No.2 spot and wrote up a report to reveal irregularities, Yoo said. 

Yoo also said that Kim Ki-choon had been the mastermind behind the blacklist of cultural figures critical of the Park administration. The list of some 10,000 left-wing figures was created following the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster and used to exclude them from state support, he said. 

“I asked President Park Geun-hye to stop discriminating against certain figures and organizations. Park remained silent and,” he said in the courtroom. 

The parliamentary impeachment committee plans to revise an earlier version of the impeachment bill, possibly to add the blacklist allegation, which could further implicate Park for a violation of her duty to uphold the Constitution.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)