Impeachment ruling date may be unveiled Wednesday

By Lee Kyung-min

The Constitutional Court will announce as early as Wednesday when it will deliver its ruling on the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, court officials said Tuesday.

The court initially planned to make the announcement late Tuesday. It did not specify the reason for the delay.

“We had a one-hour deliberation between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and decided not to make an announcement about the ruling today (Tuesday),” a court official said.

The closed-door in-depth deliberation will continue Wednesday, and the court will decide on whether to make the announcement.

The court customarily gives at least three days prior notice before a ruling. In 2004, the court announced May 11 that it would deliver its ruling on the impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun, May 14.

If the court upholds the impeachment, Park will soon be subject to prosecution questioning as a suspect in the influence-peddling scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil. She will no longer be immune from prosecution, a privilege she enjoys as a sitting president.

If Park manages to win three votes against impeachment she will resume state affairs, ending her almost three-month seclusion inside the presidential residence in Cheong Wa Dae.

The court is seeking to deliver its decision before March 13, the day acting court President Lee Jung-mi retires, to minimize the possibility of it having to reach decision with two vacancies following the earlier retirement of former court President Park Han-chul.