Seoul, March 31 (IANS) The South Korean Constitutional Court’s eight justices are deliberating on suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment case with “extra care,” a court official said on Monday amid growing calls for a swift verdict.
Kim Jung-won, the court’s Secretary General, made the remark in response to a lawmaker’s question about the trial, which effectively concluded with the final hearing on February 25.
“Multiple meetings are being held, and discussions and reviews are being conducted in depth,” he told a meeting of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee.
“As the case generates large public interest and repercussions, they are deliberating with extra care.”
Kim said the justices are meeting “frequently” but stopped short of disclosing how many times the meetings have been held or how far along the justices are in their deliberations. He added that he does not know the details of the discussions.
Asked when the ruling will be delivered, he said: “I am not in a position to say.”
Opposition parties have been pushing to amend the law to automatically extend a justice’s term until the appointment of a replacement, a move that comes as two of the eight current justices are set to retire in mid-April.
Kim said the court is reviewing the proposal internally but has no official position on it yet, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, the interim leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) called on the Constitutional Court to swiftly deliver its verdict on President Yoon’s impeachment.
Rep. Kwon Young-se made the call as the court has continued its deliberation on Yoon’s fate, 34 days after it wrapped up hearings. No date has been set for Yoon’s impeachment ruling.
“Acting court President Moon Hyung-bae should stop delaying any more and issue a ruling promptly based on the decisions of each justice,” Kwon said after a meeting of the PPP’s emergency leadership committee.
Yoon was impeached on December 14 over his failed bid to impose martial law.
It took 63 days for former President Roh Moo-hyun to be reinstated and 92 days for former President Park Geun-hye to be removed from office from the passage of their impeachment motions.
With 107 days having passed since Yoon’s impeachment, the court has yet to rule on the case. On April 18, the terms of two judges appointed by the previous administration will expire.
Currently, the court has an eight-member bench, and consent by at least six standing judges is necessary to uphold Yoon’s impeachment.
–IANS
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