An attorney for former President Park Geun-hye said Saturday the Constitutional Court's ruling was "shocking" and should be scrapped.

"The Constitutional Court's decision was extremely shocking," Kim Pyung-woo said in a statement. "It has turned down the expectations of patriotic citizens who support the rule of law."

Kim said it is unconstitutional to decide to oust the president with the bench short one justice.

All eight justices currently on the nine-member bench participated in the verdict that unanimously backed her impeachment. The court's previous chief left in January after his term ended, leaving one seat vacant. (Yonhap)