( 2 nd LD ) Court hears final arguments in Park ' s impeachment trial ( ATTN : UPDATES with final arguments , rallies in paras 1 - 5 , 7 , 9 - 10 ; CHANGES headline ) SEOUL , Feb . 27 ( Yonhap ) -- The Constitutional Court on Monday heard the final arguments of President Park Geun - hye and the National Assembly as it pushed to complete its review of the legality of the president ' s impeachment by early March . Park did not appear at the final hearing , but she highlighted her efforts to serve the nation in a statement read by one of her defense attorneys . She also expressed " regret " for causing " great pain " to the people and reiterated her claim that she only received trivial advice from Choi Soon - sil , her friend at the center of the scandal . " I have never been involved in corruption and graft in my more than 20 years in politics , " she said in the statement read by Lee Dong - heub . Park was impeached on Dec . 9 for allegedly letting Choi meddle in state affairs and colluding with her to extort money from local conglomerates . President Park Geun - hye ' s supporters rally outside the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Feb . 27 , 2017 . ( Yonhap ) The prosecution ' s final argument was made by the National Assembly impeachment panel , starting with Rep . Kwon Seong - dong of the minor conservative Bareun Party . Members of the panel especially highlighted Park ' s fault in failing to protect lives during a 2014 ferry sinking that killed more than 300 . The alleged neglect of duty was cited in the parliament ' s impeachment resolution . If the court upholds the impeachment and permanently removes Park from office , South Korea is required to hold a presidential election within 60 days . Tensions rose between the impeached leader ' s supporters and opponents . From early morning , dozens of protesters rallied outside the court to demand Park ' s ouster or reinstatement . The protests were nonviolent , although sometimes rowdy , prompting police to intervene and remove protesters from the site . Park ' s lawyers are again expected to challenge the legitimacy of the trial . They have argued the court has been unfair toward the president by closing hearings at an early date . Some of them have hinted they may not accept the court ' s ruling because it will be delivered by eight justices instead of nine , following the retirement of Chief Justice Park Han - chul last month . The court is widely expected to announce its ruling by March 13 , when acting Chief Justice Lee Jung - mi is set to retire . Some legal experts speculate that the court may break from past practice and announce the date of its ruling at the end of Monday ' s hearing to prevent unnecessary social strife . The court usually announces the date of a ruling three or four days in advance . hague @ yna . co . kr ( END )