Yoon's impeachment trial schedule

[Anchor]

The impeachment trial of President Yoon, which was temporarily halted during the Lunar New Year holiday, will resume the day after tomorrow (Feb. 4).

From now on, the schedule is expected to be quite tight.

Considering the concentrated hearings, there is a possibility that the argument procedures may conclude within this month.

Kim Tae-hoon reports.

[Report]

The Constitutional Court has designated a total of eight hearing dates for the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Half of these have already been completed, and the final eighth hearings will conclude on the 13th of this month.

In particular, starting from the 6th, there are plans to accelerate the proceedings with full-day hearings.

[Cheon Jae-hyeon/Spokesperson of the Constitutional Court/Jan. 17: "The 6th to 8th hearing dates have been collectively scheduled for February 6, Thursday, February 11, Tuesday, and February 13, Thursday, each at 10 AM."]

Immediately, the day after tomorrow, during the 5th argument date, witness examinations will be conducted in succession, starting from 2:30 PM for 90 minutes, featuring former Commander of the Capital Defense Command Lee Jin-woo, former Director of the National Intelligence Service Yeo In-Hyeong, and former Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service Hong Jang-won.

Considering this concentrated hearing, even if several more trials are held due to the selection of additional witnesses, it is highly likely that the hearing procedures will conclude within this month.

After the conclusion of the arguments, it usually takes about 2 to 3 weeks for the judges to deliberate, which means there is a possibility that the ruling on the impeachment trial could be announced in mid-March.

However, the fact that President Yoon's side has requested to ensure the legally mandated 180-day hearing period by submitting over thirty witnesses remains a variable.

[Yoon Gap-geun/Attorney for President Yoon/Jan. 21: "We applied for witnesses who can prove why we implemented emergency martial law, what the legitimacy of emergency martial law is, and why the impeachment should be dismissed."]

The potential change in the composition of the Constitutional Court judges is also considered a variable.

The Constitutional Court is set to decide tomorrow (Feb. 3) whether the postponement of the appointment of Judge Ma Eun-hyuk is unconstitutional, and depending on this decision, the currently incomplete system of nine judges may be filled.

Considering that the terms of Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and Justice Lee Ji-sun will end in mid-April, there are cautious predictions that the final conclusion of the impeachment trial may come before then.

KBS News, Kim Tae-hoon.