South Korean Court to Decide President Park's Fate on Friday
South Korean Court to Decide President Park's Fate on Friday
(Bloomberg) -- Judgment day is almost here for suspended South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
The nation’s constitutional court will rule on the validity of Park’s impeachment motion on Friday at 11 a.m., court spokesman Bae Bo-yoon said in a briefing Wednesday. The ruling will be broadcast live on television.
Park, who has been suspended since parliament’s impeachment decision in December, will be immediately removed from power if the motion is upheld, and a presidential election will have to be held within 60 days. If the motion is rejected, Park would be restored to the presidency, allowing her to complete her term in February next year.
Fifty-eight lawmakers in the ruling Liberty Korea Party, formerly known as Saenuri, submitted a petition to the court Tuesday, calling on the judges to reject or dismiss the motion, Park-aligned lawmaker Kim Jin-tae wrote on Twitter. He didn’t provide any legal basis on how the motion could be dismissed by the court.
The Friday ruling means that eight of nine judges will be in place, as acting court president Lee Jung-mi’s final day in her position is Monday. The impeachment motion needs at least six affirmative votes to be upheld.
To contact the reporter on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Andy Sharp