President Park will not attend final court hearing

Police stand guard in front of the Constitutional Court in central Seoul, Sunday, ahead of the final hearing for the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye the next day. / Yonhap

Two sides to clash at last impeachment session

By Jung Min-ho

The Constitutional Court will hold a final hearing for President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment trial at 2 p.m. Monday, heightening tensions in and out of the courthouse.

According to the court, Sunday, the President will not attend the hearing, foregoing the last opportunity to defend herself in front of eight justices.

Park’s lawyers did not give specific reasons for the decision but said they will instead submit her statement to the court.

Now, representatives of Park and the National Assembly are digging in to clash head-to-head at the final hearing.

Park’s lawyers fiercely oppose the court’s plan to decide her fate before March 13, the retirement date for acting court president Lee Jung-mi. Given this, the trial may take a drastic turn before its end. They will likely repeat their claims that the trial is flawed from the beginning so it has to start all over again.

Kim Pyung-woo, a lawyer for Park, has insisted the impeachment motion shouldn’t have passed in the first place because lawmakers did not vote for each of the 13 reasons for impeachment separately.

At the final hearing, Park’s attorneys are expected to argue that the motion lacked specific information about the President’s alleged crimes and the duties she is accused of failing to perform.

Son Bum-kyu, another lawyer for Park, has claimed that a decision made by eight out of the nine-member bench is subject to retrial, saying the court should suspend all proceedings until it fills the vacancy.

Representatives of the National Assembly have also been busy preparing for the final hearing. They held a meeting to draw up a final statement, which will be read by Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the minor conservative Bareun Party.

The representatives are also making contingency plans for various scenarios.

The sign shows the final hearing schedule for President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in central Seoul, Sunday. / Yonhap

The court usually makes a verdict two weeks after a final hearing and reveals the date a few days beforehand.

The court reaffirmed Friday that it will proceed with the final hearing Monday as it announced previously, despite plans to appoint a new chief justice, expressing its strong will to close the case before March 13.

To prevent any possible clash outside the court between anti-Park protesters and the supporters of the President, police have beefed up security and assigned officers to guard the eight justices.

Across the country, more than 1 million people also turned the streets into political battlefields Saturday to support or protest the President’s impeachment.

Impeachment supporters urged the court to quickly remove her from the presidential office permanently and called on acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn to approve the extension of the mandate for the special investigation of the massive influence-peddling scandal involving her confidant Choi Soon-sil.

Just 100 meters from the anti-Park protest, her staunch supporters took to the streets as well to oppose her impeachment and celebrate the fourth anniversary of her inauguration.

According to anti-Park protest organizers, over 1 million people participated in the rally.

People from both sides will fill the streets again on Wednesday, March 1, the country’s Independence Movement Day.