By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter

The court procedures on the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun will be unaffected by the general election results and go on as scheduled, the Constitutional Court said on Friday.

``The hearings will go ahead swiftly and precisely as planned. Talk of withdrawing the impeachment bill raised from political circles will not be reflected in the court process,’’ Yun Young-chul, president of the Court said.

``The matter of withdrawing the impeachment is a matter to be discussed later when it is officially raised by the Assembly,’’ Choo Sun-hoe, the Court’s presiding justice, told reporters.

The court’s move comes after calls to withdrawal the impeachment bill has been growing stronger following the pro-government Uri Party’s resounding victory in the general elections.

The Uri Party is proposing to settle the matter with a political compromise, but Grand National Party leader Park Geun-hye yesterday again dismissed the offer, saying that Roh’s fate depends on the pending decision of the Constitutional Court.

However, with the political downfall of major opposition figures who led the impeachment drive, such as former Millennium Democratic Party leader Chough Soon-hyung and GNP floor leader Hong Sa-duck, possibilities of a deal being struck are significantly rising.

Roh’s lawyers also said they will continue to prepare their defense arguments regardless of the poll results, but expressed some hope that the Uri Party’s victory will have a positive effect on the outcome of the court trials.

``Considering that the results of the general polls were greatly influenced by Roh’s impeachment, the Constitutional Court should at least respect, if not reflect, the election results,’’ former Chong Wa Dae secretary Moon Jae-in, who is leading Roh’s defense counsel team, said.

A fourth hearing is due on April 20, with two of Roh’s former aides on trial for corruption charges _ Choi Do-sul and Ahn Hee-jung _ to take the stand before the nine-judge panel.

jysoh@koreatimes.co.kr