Court to Rule on Special Probe of President-elect Thursday

The Constitutional Court will rule on the constitutionality of a law authorizing the independent probe of President-elect Lee Myung-bak's alleged financial misdeeds during its plenary session slated for 2 p.m. Thursday, court officials said Wednesday.

The ruling is to come after a group of six people involved in Lee's suspected financial irregularities filed a petition last month seeking an injunction against the controversial law, claiming the law is unconstitutional for its justification of unwarranted summons of individuals and violation of the "innocent until proven guilty" principle.

The ruling will follow President Roh Moo-hyun's appointment Monday of former high-court judge Chung Ho-young as the independent counsel for the Lee case. Under the law which passed through the National Assembly last month, Chung is to conduct an extensive investigation into allegations of Lee's financial irregularities until shortly before his inauguration on Feb. 25.

Depending on the ruling by the Constitutional Court, however, the independent counsel's activities could be suspended. The special counsel is set to begin his formal activities next Monday.