Constitutional Court Holds Second Round of Impeachment Case Discussions

The judges of the Constitutional Court held their second round of the meetings related to President Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment case on May 4. In the meetings, the judges discussed the disputed points of the impeachment bill and whether or not the procedure of bill resolution has been issued straightforwardly.

The Court will make its provisional decision on the case in order to complete the first rough draft of the decision documentation. The court will pronounce a sentence upon this case on a specially appointed day in May.

But if a decision has been made at the judges’ meeting, such as rejection or acceptance of the impeachment bill, the court will maintain secrecy until the day of sentencing in order to concentrate on drawing up the documentation of the final decision. The final decision will be unveiled on the day of sentencing at the earliest.

In addition, the court has officially asked the press to restrain any reports based on predictions such as: “It is highly expected that the impeachment bill might be rejected because certain judges are opposed to the impeachment bill.” The press consented to the court’s request.

Sang-Rok Lee myzodan@donga.com