[Midday News]
◀ Anchor ▶
The impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol is approaching its last hearing scheduled for tomorrow.
It has been reported that both the National Assembly and President Yoon’s side have been focusing all their efforts over the weekend to prepare their final arguments.
Since this could be the last public platform for President Yoon to convey his messages, there is keen interest in the content of his final statement.
This is Park Sol-ip reporting.
◀ Report ▶
Tomorrow at 2 PM, the 11th hearing of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment trial will begin.
After a roughly one-hour evidence examination, the representatives from both the National Assembly and President Yoon’s side will each have two hours for their comprehensive arguments, followed by the final statements from Jeong Cheong-rae, the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, who is acting as the impeachment commissioner, and President Yoon.
There is a specific interest in the content of President Yoon’s final statement, which he is reportedly drafting.
Attention is on whether it will include a responsible apology for national turmoil and a message of national unity.
President Yoon’s aides have stated that the content and length of the statement have not yet been determined.
The Constitutional Court previously announced that there will be no time limit on the final statements.
During the impeachment trial of former President Park Geun-hye, there was also no time limit, and a representative read her statement for about 15 minutes in her absence.
Throughout the weekend, President Yoon’s legal team has been preparing their final arguments while meeting with him at the detention center.
They are expected to reiterate that the imposition of martial law was justified, targeting the Democratic Party.
[Yoon Suk-yeol, President (during the 7th hearing on the 11th)]
“The Democratic Party and opposition forces have called for my resignation and impeachment 178 times until the martial law was declared, claiming preemptive impeachment.”
The National Assembly has also been finalizing their strategy for the last argument over the weekend.
They plan to argue that the declaration of martial law did not meet the necessary requirements, was unconstitutional and illegal, the State Council meeting was a mere formality, and attempts were made by the military to undermine constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly and the Election Commission, thus warranting a removal due to the severity of the violations.
Chairman Jeong plans to testify for about 15 minutes on how martial law destroyed the constitution and democracy.
[Jeong Cheong-rae, Impeachment Commissioner (during the 2nd hearing last month on the 16th)]
“The benefit of protecting the constitution by removing Yoon Suk-yeol, who attempted to destroy the constitution with force, overwhelmingly outweighs any other losses.”
In past impeachment trials of former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, conclusions were reached within two weeks after the final arguments, indicating that a decision on President Yoon’s impeachment is likely to be made by mid-next month at the latest.
This has been Park Sol-ip from MBC News.
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