The impeachment trial of South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol begins Tuesday, with the country’s Constitutional Court considering whether to relieve him of presidential duties over a failed martial law effort.
Yoon’s December 3 seizure of power plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades, when he directed troops to storm the parliament in a failed attempt to stop legislative voting under the suspension of civilian rule.
He was impeached and suspended from duty soon thereafter, but has since remained confined to his residence and has refused subpoenas from investigators probing rebellion charges and has refused to resist arrest. Using his presidential security team.
Lawmakers also impeached Yoon last month over his stance, leading to more political instability in the country, and the current acting president appeared unwilling to fall into an impasse, instead encouraging all parties to negotiate a solution. Did.
The first of five hearings in the case is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. (0500 GMT). The following sessions will take place on January 16, 21, 23 and February 4.
The court will decide primarily on two issues, whether Yun’s martial law declaration was unconstitutional and whether it was illegal.
“This impeachment case focuses entirely on the martial law situation, so the facts are not particularly complex,” lawyer Kim Nam-joo told AFP.
“Since most of the individuals involved have already been convicted and the facts are somewhat established, it does not appear that this will take much time.”
The court has time till 180 days from December. 14, when he received the case, he had to rule on whether Yun had actually violated the Constitution and the Martial Law Act.
Yoon’s legal team said he would not attend the first hearing due to alleged security concerns, adding that he would be willing to appear at a later date if security issues were resolved.
“Concerns have arisen over security and possible incidents. Therefore, the president will not be able to attend the trial on January 14,” lawyer Yoon Kab-kyun told AFP.
If he does not appear, the trial will continue in his absence.
Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye did not appear for impeachment trials in 2004 and 2016–2017, respectively.
Yun’s lawyers have argued that the court should use the full 180 days – specifically to investigate “what led to the declaration of martial law.”
Separately from the trial, a joint team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) – which is investigating Yun over the rebellion – and police are preparing a new effort to arrest the president.
An earlier attempt was unsuccessful after Yun’s presidential guard blocked access to investigators.
If the new warrant is successfully executed, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
If ultimately convicted in that case, Yoon faces life in prison or even the death penalty.
As media speculation grew that a second attempt would take place this week, police, the CIO and Yun’s Presidential Security Service met on Tuesday to discuss arrest warrants, Yonhap news agency reported.
The CIO said it would “fully prepare” for its second attempt to arrest Yoon, with police reportedly preparing 1,000 investigators for the new attempt.
Meanwhile, Yoon’s guards have fortified his Seoul compound with barbed wire and bus barricades.
On Tuesday, Yoon’s chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said his office was “ready to consider all options for an investigation or visitation of the current leader in a third place.”
Yoon’s legal team has also sought to pressure police to refrain from getting involved in the arrest attempt, claiming that officers would be “violating numerous laws” if they cooperated with investigators.
Late Sunday night, the CIO sent a letter to the Defense Ministry and the Presidential Security Service saying that anyone preventing Yun’s possible arrest “may face criminal charges” for obstruction and abuse of authority.