The Constitutional Court has denied suggesting the removal of the treason charge in discussion during trial proceedings for impeachement of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

At a press briefing Monday, the court’s public information officer Cheon Jae-hyun said it did not suggest eliminating the charge, in response to claims that the court had suggested it with the intention of upholding the impeachment.

The official said there is no clear regulation stipulating that another plenary vote must take place at the National Assembly after a change of reason for the impeachment, adding that this is a decision for the court to make.

On Friday, the Assembly’s legal team requested the removal of the treason charge as a way to accelerate trial proceedings.

The ruling People Power Party protested the idea, arguing that its elimination would effectively render the impeachment motion meaningless and require it to be rewritten and put to a new plenary vote.

The court, which met Monday for the first time since the appointment of two new justices, said all eight justices on the nine-member bench unanimously agreed to hold biweekly hearings on Tuesday and Thursday, and to exchange views for assessment and review once a week.