South Korean President Yoon's impeachment trial postpones sentencing date - citizens and police officers guarding the court are showing signs of fatigue

South Korea's Constitutional Court did not deliver a verdict on the impeachment trial to decide whether to remove President Yoon Seok-yeol from office last week. The verdict was initially expected to be delivered on the 14th of this month.
According to the news agency Yonhap News, the Constitutional Court has been holding deliberations almost every day since the final arguments in Yoon's impeachment trial on the 25th of last month.
The matter was discussed for about an hour on Friday the 28th, but no decision was made on the date of the sentencing. The date of the sentencing was decided in advance in consultation with the police and the city of Seoul, in order to ensure the safety of citizens.
The Constitutional Court will notify each institution two to three days in advance. Therefore, the sentence is expected to be announced on April 3rd at the earliest, meaning that a sentence will no longer be announced in March.
"With no conclusion having been reached even 100 days after the investigation, public anxiety is growing and there are calls for a swift verdict," the report said.
Yoon declared "emergency martial law" for the country in December last year. Emergency martial law is a type of martial law stipulated in the South Korean Constitution.
The state of emergency is issued by the president in the event of a military emergency or to maintain public order. Although the state of emergency was lifted early, it caused confusion in Korean society, and is still in effect today.
The political situation remains unstable. The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, have pointed out that Yoon has violated the constitution, accusing him of "attempting to suspend the constitutional order and committing an internal rebellion in an attempt to seize permanent power."
In December last year, a vote was held and the bill was passed with 204 votes in favor and 85 against. As a result, Yoon was suspended from his duties.
Following the passage of the bill, the Constitutional Court will decide within six months whether to impeach or reinstate Yoon.
A presidential election will be held within 60 days. Arguments have been held in the Constitutional Court since January. The issue at issue in the impeachment trial was the legitimacy of the martial law. The National Assembly's prosecution team argued that the declaration of "emergency martial law" was in accordance with Article 77 of the Constitution.
The court said the bill was issued without meeting the requirement of "time of war, emergency, or equivalent national emergency" as stipulated in the Article, and that the mobilization of the military to the Diet during martial law and attempts to arrest politicians were unconstitutional.
Yoon, on the other hand, attended the hearing himself and argued that the declaration of "emergency martial law" was an act of governance, and that it was justified. Yoon also appeared in court on the 25th of last month at the Constitutional Court to make his final arguments. Yoon said, "
Regarding the purpose of declaring "emergency martial law," he said, "It was to inform people of the critical situation that was threatening the downfall of the nation and to appeal for the sovereign, who has the power to establish the constitution, to step in." He added, "I believe that we have achieved a significant portion of that purpose."
Meanwhile, an opposition lawmaker who appeared in court on behalf of the National Assembly that filed the impeachment suit and made his final statement said, "President Yoon has attempted to destroy the Constitution and undermine the National Assembly. He is a disgrace to democracy and the people."
"He must be removed from office for the sake of the nation's development," he said. With the impeachment trial of Yoon now concluded, the question of whether Yoon should be removed from office will be left to the discretion of the Constitutional Court.
Initially, many South Korean media outlets reported that the ruling was likely to take place on the 14th of this month. The Constitutional Court would notify the court of the date of the ruling in advance, but there was no notification by that date, and the ruling was postponed.
The verdict on the 14th was widely expected because former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, who were both impeached in the past, both ended their impeachment trials about two years ago.
The verdict was due to be handed down on Friday, weeks after the trial ended. Yoon's impeachment trial concluded on the 25th of last month. The 14th was a Friday, roughly two weeks after the trial's conclusion.
However, the sentence has been postponed, and Yonhap News Agency said the earliest date for the sentence would be
also reported that the date is expected to be April 3. In addition, as two judges of the Constitutional Court are due to retire on the 18th of the same month, "there are also views that the verdict will be handed down on the 11th, the Friday of the week before."
On the 29th, the last weekend of the month, rallies were held in Seoul by both supporters and opponents of Yoon's impeachment. Supporters of impeachment have criticized the delay in the announcement.
According to the Hankyoreh, one of the company employees who was interviewed by the newspaper said, "I don't know why they are dragging it out like this. I am really worried that the impeachment case will be dismissed if things continue like this.
"The stress is building up," he said. Yonhap News also reported, "Police guarding the area around the Constitutional Court suffered from burnout. The sentence was initially expected to be handed down in mid-March, and the police responded by
"We have been implementing security plans based on this. But with no date for the sentencing being decided, we are suffering from the double whammy of fatigue and budget shortfalls."