PM Han's impeachment trial ends

[Anchor]

Today (Feb. 19), the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was held.

Prime Minister Han stated that he has no legal responsibility regarding the state of emergency martial law but expressed regret for not being able to persuade the President.

Trial procedure for him concluded today, and a ruling is expected as early as next month.

Reporter Kim Tae-hoon has the details.

[Report]

The first trial date for the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

The National Assembly's prosecution team presented five reasons for the impeachment of Prime Minister Han.

First, they pointed out that he neglected to exercise the President's right to request reconsideration and did not take special measures regarding the declaration of a state of emergency martial law.

They also claimed that as acting President he announced a "joint governance" which has no legal basis, failed to appoint a Constitutional Court judge recommended by the National Assembly, and did not make a request for candidate recommendations for the so-called "special investigation into insurrection", which were all violations of the Constitution.

[Kim Joo-hyun/National Assembly Prosecution Team Representative: "By watching the situation where the constitutional order is shaken due to insurrection, he effectively condoned and abetted the insurrection..."]

In response, Prime Minister Han expressed regret to the public for not being able to persuade the President regarding the state of emergency martial law.

[Han Duck-soo/Prime Minister: "I tried to assist the President in overcoming the difficult domestic and international situations, but I failed to persuade the President to make a different choice."]

However, he denied any legal responsibility, stating that he was not aware of the martial law in advance and did not condone or abet the insurrection.

Regarding other impeachment reasons, he stated that the exercise of the right to request reconsideration is the President's exclusive authority and that he deemed the appointment of Constitutional Court judges as acting President to be inappropriate.

He rebutted that the idea of joint governance was merely intended to ensure stable governance.

Today, the Constitutional Court also conducted hearings on the dispute regarding the quorum for the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han.

The Constitutional Court concluded the hearings for both cases today, and a ruling is expected as early as next month.

This is KBS News, Kim Tae-hoon.