South Korea court to hold first impeachment hearing Dec 22December 20, 2016 - 11:51 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - South Korea's Constitutional Court will hold its first hearing in the impeachment case of President Park Geun-hye on Thursday, Dec. 22 with initial opinions from both sides, an official said on Tuesday, according to Reuters. The court is reviewing the impeachment vote passed by parliament on Dec. 9. Park is accused of colluding with a friend to pressure big businesses into making financial contributions to non-profit foundations and violating her constitutional duty. The court's nine judges are entrusted with ruling on the vote to impeach Park, whose powers have been suspended. A majority opinion of six judges will uphold the parliament's motion and oust Park or overturn it and reinstate her. The court has up to 180 days from the day of the impeachment vote to decide if Park becomes South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be ousted from office. If she is removed, a new election has to be held in 60 days to pick a new president who will serve a full five-year term. Park's lawyers submitted legal opinion last week saying the impeachment had no legal basis and was also procedurally flawed and therefore should be thrown out. Park has described the friend, Choi Soon-sil, as someone she had turned to at difficult times and apologised for carelessness in her ties, but denied any legal wrongdoing. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenian delegation participating in NATO PA session The delegation is headed by Andranik Kocharyan, the chairman of the standing committee on defense and security matters. Schengen visa cost won’t change for Armenia – diplomat The increase in the cost of a Schengen visa will not apply to citizens of Armenia, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said. Yeremyan Projects opens state-of-the-art dairy production plant Yeremyan Projects officially launched the Yeremyan Products state-of-the-art milk processing plant in Yerevan on May 24. Armenian PM’s helicopter makes emergency landing in Vanadzor The helicopter transporting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made an emergency landing in Vanadzor. |