(3rd LD) Park's lawyers demand justice's removal from impeachment trial

(ATTN: UPDATES with final hearing's postponement in last 6 paras)

SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye's lawyers on Wednesday demanded the removal of a justice from her impeachment trial over allegations of partiality.

Justice Kang Il-won, the lead justice for the case, should be removed for "unfairly" conducting the trial, a lawyer said at the the 16th hearing at the Constitutional Court. He accused Kang of allowing the National Assembly to alter its impeachment resolution by "illegal" means under the pretext of simplifying the charges.

After adjourning the session to discuss the request among the judges, acting Chief Justice Lee Jung-mi struck it down. She said the judges determined the request was aimed only at stalling the proceedings.

The lawyers earlier lodged a strong protest against the impeachment process, claiming the parliament's Dec. 9 vote to impeach the president was unconstitutional and fraught with legal flaws.

"To impeach (the president) for 13 reasons that are different in content and corresponding laws, there must be a separate vote on each of them," Kim Pyung-woo, a member of the defense team, said in a fevered appeal that lasted nearly two hours. "Even in the United States, which created the impeachment trial system, they vote on each separate issue."

Park was impeached on charges of letting her friend Choi Soon-sil meddle in state affairs and colluding with her to extort money from conglomerates.

The motion passed by parliament is flawed because it lumps together offenses such as bribery, abuse of authority and extortion into one as if they are a "compound crime," the lawyer added.

Kim recently published a book titled "I Denounce the Impeachment." He joined the defense team last week as the court accelerated its review of the case.

The lawyer further claimed that the details of the impeachment resolution were not sent to the president.

"Where in the world is the president impeached and not even informed of the reasons?" he asked. "This kind of political oppression can only be seen in North Korea."

Lee Dong-heub, another lawyer and former Constitutional Court justice, made similar arguments in the president's defense, saying none of the grounds for impeachment warrant her ouster.

The impeachment process was triggered by Choi's attempts to use her ties to the president for personal gain, not the president's wrongdoing, he claimed.

Meanwhile, the court postponed the final hearing from Friday to Monday in response to the lawyers' request for more time.

Critics say Park has been trying to delay the proceedings to increase the chances of her reinstatement. Once Lee retires on March 13 upon completing her term, Park will only need two justices on her side to be reinstated. There are currently eight justices on the nine-member bench after Chief Justice Park Han-chul retired last month.

The court has shown its determination to deliver a verdict before March 13.

Lee asked again whether the president plans to appear at the final hearing to make closing arguments, but the lawyers said it remains undecided.

Park has not once attended her trial since proceedings began in December.

If she is unseated, South Korea is required to hold a presidential by-election within 60 days. If she is reinstated, an election will be held in December as scheduled.

hague@yna.co.kr
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