Constitutional Court to hold final hearing in Yoon's impeachment trial next week

By Im Yoon-seo Posted : February 20, 2025, 17:57 Updated : February 21, 2025, 08:57
 
President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing for his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb. 20, 2025. Yonhap
SEOUL, February 20 (AJP) - The Constitutional Court of Korea will have the final hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial next week over his botched martial law debacle last December.

After wrapping up the 10th hearing on Thursday, the court said it will hear final statements from both sides including Yoon at 2 p.m. on Feb. 25.

Once next week's hearing concludes, the court will begin its deliberation to decide whether to impeach or reinstate him, which normally takes about two weeks, meaning that any decision is expected to be made by mid-March.

Yoon apparently believes in his return to office, with his legal representatives quoting him as saying later in the day, "I will quickly resume my duties and lead the country by integrating people from different generations."
 
Police officers guard at the entrance of the Constitutional Court of Korea in central Seoul on Feb. 20, 2025. Yonhap
In the day's hearing, which began at 3 p.m., an hour later than the previous session, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has been suspended from his post, appeared as a witness to testify alongside Cho Ji-ho, the head of the National Police Agency who had repeatedly declined to appear, citing health reasons. But Cho again refused to answer most questions.

Cho is one of the key witnesses in the allegations that Yoon ordered the arrests of political figures during the short-lived martial law debacle on Dec. 3 last year. 

Yoon appeared for the hearing as well but left just a few minutes after his arrival at the court to avoid an encounter with Han, who claimed to have opposed the martial law declaration and expressed concerns but was unable to stop it.

Earlier in the day, Yoon also attended a preliminary hearing in his separated criminal trial on charges of insurrection and abuse of power at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul.

But the hearing ended in just 13 minutes, with another session scheduled for March 24, as such hearings are usually intended to clarify the main disputes of the case.

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