March 6, 2025
SEOUL – The Constitutional Court of Korea, which concluded the hearings of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial on Feb. 25, is likely to release its verdict as early as next week.
According to news reports, the court is planning to continue justices’ deliberations on Yoon’s impeachment case Wednesday and Friday this week.
Speculation is growing that the court’s ruling on Yoon’s case could also be announced on a Friday, as the rulings on the two previous presidential impeachments ― former President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and former President Park Geun-hye in 2017 ― were announced on a Friday. If that is the case, it is likely that the verdict will be announced next Friday, given the planned deliberations this week.
In previous cases, former President Roh’s ruling was issued 14 days after arguments concluded, while former President Park’s ruling took 11 days. This is another reason to expect the ruling to be delivered by the second week of March, following the timelines of past impeachment trials, as the arguments in Yoon’s trial concluded on Feb. 25.
The court has officially said that it has not yet decided on a specific day for announcing its verdict.
It is also undecided whether the court will broadcast the impeachment ruling announcement live. It televised the impeachment ruling announcements for Roh’s and Park’s trials, citing the gravity of the matter and high public interest as reasons for doing so.
Meanwhile, despite the court’s ruling on Feb. 27 that acting President Choi Sang-mok’s refusal to appoint Ma was a violation of the National Assembly’s rights, and that Choi has a constitutional duty to appoint the justice, it seems unlikely that the appointment of Ma will affect Yoon’s case.
Following the Feb. 27 ruling, there was speculation that if Choi appoints Ma, he might have joined the deliberations on Yoon’s impeachment case — which could potentially require reopening the arguments and delay a decision.
But it is expected that the court will proceed with its existing eight justices who have been involved in the deliberations so far, from the first two preparatory hearings and over 11 rounds of formal hearings.
In addition to Yoon’s case, the court is also reviewing the impeachment cases of suspended Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae, but it has prioritized the president’s case.
Local news reports suggested that Choi was still considering whether to appoint Ma or not, as the majority of the Cabinet members have reportedly voiced concern during a meeting on Tuesday over an immediate appointment, urging his careful consideration.
In particular, it is reported that Minister of Government Legislation Lee Wan-kyu and others argued that since suspended Prime Minister Han could potentially return to office, acting President Choi should refrain from appointing Ma at this time, as that could make it more likely the court upholds Han’s impeachment. Many of the meeting’s attendees reportedly agreed with this view.
Choi appears to be weighing the timing of Ma’s appointment, as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea has made Ma’s appointment a condition for resuming national policy discussions, whereas the ruling People Power Party has opposed it.