The Constitutional Court of Korea, set to deliver a final decision on President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment within 180 days, held its first closed-door meeting Thursday with six justices of the nine-seat court.

At the meeting, justices were expected to share opinions on the resolution of whether to uphold or overturn Yoon’s impeachment. Their discussion was based on research conducted by a 10-member constitutional task force on the legal grounds and facts behind Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law declaration.

Considering the weightiness of the issue, the justices are likely to hold regular meetings more frequently. During former President Park Geun-hye’s 2017 impeachment, the then-eight-member court held meetings every day except on holidays.

Eyes are on what kind of approach the justices discussed to take regarding Yoon’s apparent refusal to receive the trial-related documents from Monday. The court has ordered Yoon to submit a statement, a list of evidence and Cabinet meeting minutes by Dec. 24.

In a press briefing held Thursday, court press officer Lee Jin said the written requests sent to Yoon were returned to the court.

“The court employees tried to deliver the orders manually by visiting the presidential office and Yoon’s residence on Thursday morning, but the presidential security service refused to deliver them,” Lee told reporters. “Justices are mulling the next steps of how to proceed with further deliveries of the requests. We will be able to announce our stance next Monday.”

Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic Party of Korea decided to push ahead with the confirmation hearing for three vacant justice nominees to ensure a full bench, without consent from the ruling party.

Led by the eldest member of the parliament, Rep. Park Jie-won, the special committee on the confirmation hearing for the Constitutional Court’s justices decided to hold the confirmation hearing for Ma Eun-hyeok and Jung Gye-seon on Dec. 23, and Cho Han-chang on Dec. 24.

Ma and Jung, suggested by the opposition party, are both judges from the Seoul Eastern District Court. Cho, nominated by the People Power Party, is a former judge on the Seoul High Court.

Although the parliament’s consent is not compulsory for appointing justices, the Constitutional Court Act’s Article 6 Clause 2 stipulates that “justices shall be appointed, elected, or nominated, following confirmation hearings of the National Assembly.”

Both parties have been locking horns on whether the acting President Han Duck-soo holds the authority to appoint justices.

The ruling party said that an acting president can appoint justices only in the event of a presidential vacancy, not merely a suspension of duties -- in an apparent argument to prevent the court from completing a full bench.

In contrast, the opposition contends that filling the vacancies is essential for the court to function properly with a full nine justices, especially given the gravity of the impeachment proceedings.