The Constitutional Court of Korea announced Monday that it would prioritize President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial, setting the first preparatory hearing for Dec. 27 at 2 p.m.
Lee Jin, director general for the Constitutional Court's Public Information Office, said in a press briefing Monday that justices Lee Mi-sun and Jeong Hyung-sik have been chosen as the two lead justices to oversee the evidence examination and arguments.
The chief justice, who leads the ruling by drafting the resolution and preparing arguments, has not been disclosed by the court. The chief justice is selected through a random draw.
But according to news reports, Jeong, who was appointed as justice by Yoon in 2023, has been designated as chief justice.
It is not mandatory for the court to reveal the chief justice, but they did in 2017 with ex-President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment case, citing the “severity of the issue.”
The court has also formed a task force comprising 10 constitutional researchers, led by a senior researcher. It added that it would also secure investigation records from the prosecutors and police in advance.
Preparations are underway to deliver a copy of an impeachment trial bill to Yoon and request his reply, the court added, though it is not compulsory for Yoon to do so.
It is highly likely that Yoon does not show up at the Dec. 27 hearing since it is a preparatory procedure. But he must attend the public hearing of his trial and participate in the oral pleading. If he fails to appear, the date needs to be reset.
On Monday, news reports said that Kim Hong-il, former chief of the country’s broadcast watchdog the Korea Communications Commission, will lead Yoon’s legal team of up to six attorneys. Kim, who has reportedly quit local law firm Shin & Kim, was formerly Yoon’s boss. They worked at the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office as prosecutors in the early 2010s.
Seok Dong-hyun, former secretary-general of the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification, and Yoon’s closest confidant for 40 years, is reportedly joining the team as well.
While the court stressed that the six justices at the nine-seat-court can conduct both hearings and arguments, Justice Kim Hyeong-du told reporters Monday morning that he expects “the nine-justice panel to be completed within December.”
Currently, Parliament is planning to hold confirmation hearings for three new justice candidates on Dec. 24 and conduct a vote on whether to appoint them as early as Dec. 30.
The opposition Democratic Party has nominated two candidates, Jung Gye-seon and Ma Eun-hyeok, judges from the Seoul Eastern District Court and the ruling People Power Party has nominated one, Cho Han-chang, former judge at the Seoul High Court.
Who are the justices
Three of the six justices were directly appointed by the president: Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sun were appointed by Moon Jae-in, and Jeong Hyung-sik was appointed by Yoon. The remaining three justices -- Jeong Jeong-mi, Kim Hyeong-du and Kim Bok-hyeong -- were appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
While Justice Jeong Hyung-sik is considered conservative, Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sun are classified as progressive.
The ideological leanings of the Constitutional Court justices are considered irrelevant in this case.
The impeachment charge against Yoon currently centers on the unconstitutional and unlawful nature of his declaration of martial law: violation of constitutional Article 77 by failing to adhere to the required conditions and procedures.
Since this case focuses on the constitutional and legal breaches surrounding the declaration of martial law, it is seen as more straightforward than the Park Geun-hye case, which took the court 91 days to decide on.
In Yoon’s national address on Dec. 12, he defended the legitimacy of his martial law declaration and signaled his intention to challenge the case on legal grounds: “Deploying a small number of troops temporarily to maintain order -- how is that a rebellion?”
Meanwhile, the main opposition Democratic Party said Monday that it has begun to discuss forming an impeachment prosecution committee.
The committee is expected to include lawmakers from the Democratic Party, which holds the majority at the National Assembly, as well as members from the People Power Party and the Progressive Reform Party. Within the Democratic Party, it is anticipated that Jeong Cheong-rae, the chair of the Judiciary Committee who would take the role of a prosecutor, and lawmakers with legal expertise will join the committee.
