Impeachment trial of South Korean President Yoon to begin

Kathmandu: The impeachment trial of South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol  has begun with the country’s Constitutional Court set to weigh whether to strip him of his presidential duties over a failed martial law bid.

Yoon’s December 3 power grab plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades, after he directed soldiers to storm parliament in an unsuccessful attempt to stop lawmakers from voting down his suspension of civilian rule.

He was impeached soon after and suspended from duty but has gone to ground in his residence since, refusing summonses from investigators probing him on insurrection charges and using his presidential security team to resist arrest.

Lawmakers also impeached Yoon’s stand-in last month, putting the country in further political instability, and the current acting president has appeared unwilling to wade into the standoff, instead urging all parties to negotiate for a solution. The trial’s first of five hearings is slated to begin at 2:00 pm (0500 GMT).

The following sessions take place on January 16, 21, 23 and February 4. The court will decide mainly two issues, whether Yoon’s martial law declaration was unconstitutional and if it was illegal.

‘This impeachment case focuses solely on the martial law situation, so the facts are not particularly complex,’ said lawyer Kim Nam-ju told AFP. ‘Since most of the individuals involved have already been indicted and the facts have been somewhat established, it doesn’t seem like it will take a long time.’ said lawyer Ju.’

The court has up to 180 days from December 14, when it received the case, to make its ruling on whether Yoon indeed violated the constitution and the martial law act. Yoon’s legal team said he would not appear at the first hearing over purported safety concerns, saying he would be willing to appear at a later date if security issues were ironed out.

The trial will continue in his absence if he does not appear. Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye did not appear for their impeachment trials in 2004 and 2016-2017, respectively.

Yoon’s lawyers have argued the court must utilise the full 180 days  specifically to examine what led to the declaration of martial law Arrest attempt in a parallel criminal inquiry, a joint team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) which is probing Yoon over insurrection  and police are preparing a fresh attempt to arrest the president.

RSS/AFP