Impeachment verdict date for President Yoon pushed back as Court rules on other cases Thursday

The Constitutional Court is delivering its ruling on the impeachment trial of Auditor General Choe Jae-hae and three prosecutors.

While no ruling schedules have been set for President Yoon, the court has decided to first rule on cases unrelated to martial law.

Our Oh Soo-young reports.

Before issuing President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment verdict, the Constitutional Court is ruling on the impeachment of four state officials accused of acting in line with the Yoon Administration's interests.

On Thursday, the Court is deciding whether or not to uphold the National Assembly's motion last year to impeach chief state auditor Choe Jae-hae, on allegations he acted in the interests of the Yoon administration, and conducted a weak audit of the relocating of the Presidential Office and residence in 2022. That move by President Yoon was criticized by his political opponents.

Choe has claimed the charges presented by the opposition-led National Assembly are inaccurate and distorted.

The Constitutional Court will also rule on the impeachment of three prosecutors, including Seoul Central District Chief Prosecutor Lee Chang-soo, and members of his staff, Cho Sang-won and Choi Jae-hun, who have been accused of conducting a lenient investigation into First Lady Kim Keon Hee's alleged involvement in a stock manipulation case.

The Court has been working on 9 impeachment cases, 8 of which were pushed through by the Assembly, after President Yoon's martial law on December third last year.

As it has pledged to prioritize President Yoon's impeachment case above all others, Thursday's ruling on other officials has drawn further attention to the timing of Yoon's verdict,.. which was initially expected this Friday.

Typically, the Court notifies both parties of the ruling date two days in advance.

However, there has been no such notification so far.

As political and public pressure both for and against Yoon's impeachment grow more fervent by the day, particularly after his release from detention, experts say the judicial bench is likely moving more cautiously, to deliver a broadly acceptable decision to a highly polarized society.

More than 2-point-6 million petitions, both supporting and opposing Yoon's impeachment, have been submitted to the Court.

Observers also say the ruling on whether or not to uphold Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's impeachment from office as well as Acting President in Yoon's place, is also likely to precede the Presidential impeachment verdict, given that it is a strongly related matter that affects the nation's governance.

In any case, a decision within the next few weeks is widely expected as two justices are due to retire from the bench on April 18th.

Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.