Constitutional Court to Decide on Thursday Whether to Adopt New Evidence

The Constitutional Court announced yesterday it would decide whether or not to accept new evidence provided by prosecutors in the case of President Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment and, if so, how much they accept, at its third general conference scheduled to open this coming Thursday.

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Choo Sun-hoe, who is to lead the conference, said, “At the conference held a day before the third Constitutional Court hearing, justices will discuss whether or not to adopt new evidence provided by prosecutors.”

Furthermore, the court has asked prosecutors to additionally submit clear materials, which can support the necessity of adopting the evidence, by Wednesday.

Prosecutors, while preparing for the second Constitutional Court hearing that opened last Friday, applied to the court for permission to summon 30 people including President Roh as witnesses, and also applied to relevant government agencies such as Cheong Wa Dae, the prosecution, the National Election Commission, and the Special Prosecutor’s Office, for confirming materials and information.

Sang-Rok Lee myzodan@donga.com