Schedule For Trial on Capital Relocation Petition To Be Set Today

The Constitutional Court announced yesterday that it had requested suggestions from six relevant government organizations, including President Roh Moo-hyun, in order to gather their opinions in judging the petition questioning the constitutionality of the capital relocation law.

The six organizations include the National Assembly, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, the Justice Ministry, the Presidential Committee on Administrative Capital Relocation, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and President Roh Moo-hyun. The Constitutional Court is scheduled to hold a council today where all judges are taking part to decide the details of the trial procedure and whether or not to permit oral proceedings.

The court opens the council on Tuesday in two weeks, and all nine judges will participate. After chief judges on each case hand out written requests for the council, the members will decide detailed schedule for deliberations on the case.

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Kang Geum-sil attended the National Assembly’s question-and-answer session on social and cultural affairs, and said, “The capital relocation issue is not a matter of whether to violate people’s basic rights, but whether to reflect people’s opinions in politics,” adding, “Since this bill was passed through legal procedures in the National Assembly, this should be solved by politicians not by lawyers.”

Minister Kang also said, “It is not proper to move to hold a referendum without executing the law approved by the National Assembly,” adding, “It is the legislature that should deal with this problem, not the President.”

Sang-Rok Lee myzodan@donga.com