The Constitutional Court of Korea in Jongno-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)
The Constitutional Court of Korea in Jongno-gu, Seoul. (Yonhap)

The Constitutional Court of Korea stated Thursday that it remains "unshaken" by attempts by various parties to influence or manipulate public opinion outside the courtroom.

“As an independent adjudicative body, the Constitutional Court is not swayed by public opinion battles outside the courtroom and is proceeding with a fair trial,” Cheon Jae-yeon, spokesperson of the court, told reporters regarding the ongoing public opinion battle between the National Assembly and President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team over his impeachment trial.

Earlier this week, both sides held press conferences explaining their respective views on why the charge of insurrection should or should not be withdrawn as a reason for Yoon's impeachment.

The National Assembly’s impeachment committee announced last week that it was considering removing "insurrection" from the list of charges against Yoon, a move widely perceived as an effort to expedite proceedings in the Constitutional Court. Yoon's legal team argued that if the insurrection charge forming the basis of the impeachment trial is removed, the impeachment motion itself should be considered fundamentally flawed.

“If any party has objections regarding procedural progress, the court will carefully review them and proceed accordingly,” Cheon said.

Cheon also rejected claims by Yoon's legal representatives that the impeachment trial was taking place in a speedy manner unfavorable for Yoon.

“The speed of the trial is determined by the court. … The current process cannot be said to have been unusually expedited,” she said, drawing comparisons with previous presidential impeachment cases.

For former President Roh Moo-hyun, it took 18 days from the filing of the case to the first hearing, and for former President Park Geun-hye, it took 25 days.

For Yoon, the case was filed on Dec. 14, and the first hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31, taking 31 days.

The court also said that it had secured some investigative records related to Yoon’s impeachment trial from investigative agencies.

“As of Wednesday afternoon, the court had received responses to its request for certified copies of the investigation records,” she said, adding that the responses were from the National Police Agency, the Ministry of National Defense Prosecutors' Office, and the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.