Constitutional court to use written statements as evidence instead of testimonies

Feb 11, 2025, 06:00 am

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/Joint Press Corps

AsiaToday reporters Kim Chae-yeon & Kim Im-soo

The Constitutional Court has said that it recognizes the ability to testify in the interrogation report prepared by the prosecution in the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol, raising controversy.

The decision was made with the intention of following the impeachment trial case of former President Park Geun Hye in 2017. In response, President Yoon protested, saying, "The Constitutional Court is conducting a kangaroo trial.” The legal community also pointed out that the purpose of the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act in 2020 should be used to strictly interpret the admissibility of evidence and that the court should get rid of suspicion of conducting "hasty trial" through an additional hearing date.

When asked at a regular briefing on Friday if the scope of the prosecution's ability to testify in the prosecution's record has been reduced since the impeachment trial of former President Park, constitutional court spokesperson Chun Jae-hyun said, "Constitutional trials are not criminal trials," adding that the court would proceed with the same procedure. In response to a reporter’s question regarding whether the court would rely on either the testimony or the contents of the suspect interrogation records, Chun stated, "The credibility of the testimony is a matter for the court to decide."

President Yoon's side protested, saying that the Constitutional Court's intention to judge by a record, not by testimony, is "a regression to the past and the reason for the explosive increase in public distrust of the Constitutional Court." Attorney Yoon Gap-geun issued a statement on the day, saying, "The judgment on the president's insurrection will have to be based on criminal judgment and a hearing based on strict laws of evidence is essential," adding, "We will exercise discretion beyond the legal system," he added.

"It is contrary to the prestigious regulations set by the Constitutional Court that the court will apply the civil lawsuit regulations in the impeachment trial," said Jang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University School of Law. "If the Constitutional Court's judgment now and the conclusion of the criminal trial for civil war later are mixed, it can be a bigger problem," he said.

"The Constitutional Court will virtually conclude with the dismissal and proceed with the trial formally," a former prosecutor of the prosecution said, adding, "If the sentence is carried out without resolving the controversy over the hasty hearing and without additional arguments, it will be difficult for the public to understand the results."

#Constitutional Court #Yoon Suk-yeol #impeachment trial #prosecution