Yoon's ruling pushed into April

[Anchor]

The ruling on the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol has ultimately been postponed to next month, April.

There are now only three weeks left until the retirement of two judges.

Reporter Kim Young-hoon has the details.

[Report]

This week, the Constitutional Court has handled the impeachment trial of acting President Han Duck-soo, along with forty other general cases.

Today (Mar. 28), they held a meeting to discuss the case of President Yoon Suk Yeol, but no announcement was made regarding the ruling date.

Therefore, the ruling date has effectively been pushed to April.

It is expected that the ruling would be possible after the by-elections scheduled for the 2nd of next month, so some time after the 3rd.

However, if it extends into April, a new variable must be considered.

The retirement of judges Moon Hyung-bae and Lee Mi-sun is scheduled for the 18th of next month.

With about three weeks left until their retirement, many expect that the ruling will be made before then.

If the two judges retire without the appointment of candidate Ma Eun-hyuk, the Constitutional Court will revert to a 'six-member system'.

In this case, while a ruling is not impossible, there will inevitably be controversy regarding the legitimacy of the decision.

[Cha Jin-ah/Professor at Korea University Law School: "While it is theoretically possible for a final decision to be made with a six-member system, it seems that many believe it would be better not to do so in reality."]

Currently, the impeachment trial cases against President Yoon and Minister of Justice Park Sung-jae have concluded their arguments and are awaiting the Constitutional Court's ruling.

Rulings on constitutional complaints and unconstitutional law trials are also scheduled for April.

As the deliberation at the Constitutional Court continues, the Korean Bar Association has urged for a prompt ruling, stating, "The delay in the ruling on President Yoon's impeachment trial is exacerbating social confusion."

This is KBS News, Kim Young-hoon.