It was widely expected that President Yoon would not appear before the court for his impeachment ruling. - Photo: EPA-EFE
SEOUL: President Yoon Suk Yeol won’t appear during the Constitutional Court’s ruling on his impeachment on 11am on Friday (April 4) (10am in Malaysia), his legal representatives told reporters Thursday (April 3), citing security concerns.
They said the decision was made after considering worries about safety, crowd control and congestion in the vicinity of the courthouse.
Instead, they said they were considering sending out a message to the public following the ruling.
The suspended President was last seen on March 8 when he was released from Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, after the Seoul Central District Court backed the President’s appeal against his detention, claiming the detention lacked legal grounds and was unlawful.
Since then, he has been staying at his residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu.
It was widely expected that Yoon would not appear before the court for his impeachment ruling, considering the precedents of presidential impeachments.
Both former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye failed to attend court on the day of the verdict on their impeachments in 2004 and 2017, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court had announced on April 1 that it would make the final ruling on Yoon’s impeachment at 11am on April 4.
The court has deliberated the case for five weeks after concluding the hearings on Feb 25, marking the longest period of deliberations of South Korea’s three presidential impeachment trials.
The ruling will take legal effect from the moment the judge delivers the court’s decision. - The Korea Herald/ANN
