Constitutional Court to hold final hearing on Yoon's impeachment next Tuesday

Verdict expected in mid-March

By Anna J. Park

The Constitutional Court is set to deliver its ruling on President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial by mid-March, following the final round of arguments next Tuesday. The court's decision will follow after approximately two weeks of deliberation, voting and verdict drafting.

Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief justice of the country's top court, stated after the 10th hearing on Thursday that the next hearing will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

"The court will hear closing arguments from both sides' attorneys, along with final statements from both parties," the justice said after the 10th hearing concluded that evening.

During the final hearing next Tuesday, each side will have two hours for closing arguments. However, there will be no time limit for the final statements from the president and the National Assembly's impeachment prosecution committee.

Once the final hearing ends, the court is expected to issue its ruling within approximately two weeks, based on precedents from past impeachment cases. In former President Roh Moo-hyun’s trial, the court ruled 14 days after the final arguments, while in ex-President Park Geun-hye’s case, the decision came within 11 days.

At the 10th hearing, key witnesses testified, including former acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, former National Intelligence Service (NIS) Deputy Director Hong Jang-won and National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho. Yoon’s legal team had previously requested a date change due to scheduling conflicts with his criminal trial, but the court denied the request.

During the final witness examination, several testimonies unfavorable to Yoon were presented. Han stated that he had not received any directives from the president immediately after the declaration of martial law, contradicting Yoon’s claim that it was merely a "warning measure" intended to last no more than half a day.

Han also testified that during the Cabinet meeting held just before the martial law declaration, "all Cabinet members were concerned and tried to dissuade him." He further stated that the meeting had "numerous procedural and substantive flaws" and pointed out that it "differed from a typical Cabinet meeting."

When former NIS Deputy Director Hong took the stand, a dispute arose over the authenticity of a memo listing politicians and other figures to be targeted for arrest. Hong previously claimed that he received orders from Yoon to detain key figures. The NPA commissioner general also took the stand, but refused to answer most questions, citing Yoon's ongoing criminal trial.

Earlier in the day, the criminal trial for Yoon on insurrection charges officially commenced, with the first pretrial hearing lasting just 13 minutes at Seoul Central District Court. The pretrial hearing serves as a procedural step to establish the framework for upcoming proceedings.

The hearing began at 10 a.m. When the court asked Yoon's legal team whether they acknowledged the charges, they did not explicitly clarify their stance. Instead, they stated that they had not yet been able to review the case records, adding, "It is difficult to confirm our position at this time."

Attorney Seok Dong-hyeon, one of Yoon's lead legal representatives, later elaborated on the defense team's statement in court.

"Our statement about not being able to confirm our position due to a lack of review indicates that the president intends to provide a comprehensive response after thoroughly examining the details of the indictment and the extensive evidence records," Seok told reporters.

The attorney further emphasized that the president cannot accept the application of the insurrection charge against him in any form.

"This stance has been consistently reaffirmed multiple times since the early stages of the investigation, including during the arrest warrant review and today’s pretrial hearing," Seok added.

The court has scheduled another pretrial hearing for the criminal case against Yoon at 10 a.m. Monday. After that, the trial will transition to the main hearing phase.