Court ending impeachment trial

Both sides ordered to submit final written argument

The Constitutional Court asked both the National Assembly prosecutorial panel and President Park Geun-hye’s defense attorneys, Thursday, to submit written arguments by the end of the day, virtually wrapping up the impeachment trial of the President ahead of a final hearing scheduled for next Monday.

After the last hearing ended Wednesday, key testimony at previous hearings are under review with the judges determining whether they help or hurt the arguments of both sides, according to informed sources.

Although no conclusion has been reached, according to the sources, the judges are also preparing legal arguments on opinions by reviewing related laws and organizing facts to compare them with the impeachment charges.

The prosecutorial panel plans to submit about a 250-page argument, while no information is available on that from Park’s attorneys.

Meanwhile, the court is likely to deliver the ruling on either March 10 or 13, after designating Feb. 27 as the final hearing date for verbal arguments in the trial, after accepting Park’s attorneys’ request to allow them more time to prepare their defense.

Even if Park decides to appear at the final hearing Monday, the court will still be able to make its ruling before March 13, when acting court President Justice Lee Jung-mi retires, as a previous impeachment ruling took no more than 14 days of deliberations.

Despite the numerous stalling tactics employed by Park’s attorneys in an apparent move to increase the chances of the impeachment being overturned, the court has managed to reject all such maneuverings.

The lawyers’ defense strategy included attempts to reduce the number of judges, call in as many witnesses as possible, and ask for additional materials to be entered into evidence, most of which have been rejected repeatedly.

While the attorneys said the court accepting their requests is crucial in uncovering the truth of the scandal, judges have largely denied their requests, as they are deemed irrelevant to proving the relationship between President Park and her confidant Choi-Soon-sil.

Despite their purported aim to delay the ruling until after Lee’s retirement, following which only two votes would be needed to have the impeachment overturned, the ruling is to be made by eight judges including Lee, which means Park needs at least three votes to stay in office.

The court also dismissed the claim that it was acting hastily, mindful of the upcoming retirement of Lee and also of public sentiment, an accusation which analysts believeis merely a desperate attempt by cornered attorneys with weak arguments.

Park is reluctant to appear before the court as it would certainly entail grueling questioning from both the judges and the prosecutorial panel.