South Korea’s court begins review of President Yoon’s impeachment

On Friday, December 27, the Constitutional Court of South Korea will hold a session to review the impeachment case of the suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol. The case stems from his declaration of martial law in early December, reports Reuters.

Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal representatives will attend the first session of the Constitutional Court on Friday, December 27, where the impeachment case related to his temporary declaration of martial law will be reviewed by parliament. Yoon’s adviser provided this information to the agency.

According to attorney Seok Dong-hyeon, two lawyers from Yoon’s team are expected to be present at the court hearing. One is a former prosecutor, while the other is a former spokesperson for the Constitutional Court.

The court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate Yoon as president or remove him from office. In the latter case, new presidential elections will be held within 60 days. Yoon is not required to attend the hearings.

Until Thursday, Yoon had ignored the court’s requests for documents and summons from investigators in a separate criminal case regarding his declaration of martial law on December 3. This prompted criticism even from some members of his own party.

Martial law and political crisis

Yoon Suk Yeol’s unexpected declaration of martial law on December 3 and its rapid political repercussions shocked the country and financial markets. The United States and European countries expressed concern, as they had viewed Yoon as a reliable partner in global efforts to counter China, Russia, and North Korea.

The crisis deepened this week when the opposition Democratic Party promised to move forward with an impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is currently acting as president. This came in response to his rejection of a call to immediately appoint three judges to the Constitutional Court to fill vacant positions.

The parliamentary session is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, December 27. The Democratic Party announced that it would bring the impeachment motion against Han to a vote.

The party has clashed with Han, the prime minister appointed by Yoon, over judicial appointments and proposed bills calling for special prosecutors to investigate the president’s activities.

On Thursday, December 26, Han stated that appointing judges without bipartisan agreement exceeds his authority as interim president.

The parliamentary vote, which will determine Han’s fate, is set to take place around the same time the Constitutional Court holds its first hearing in the case that will decide whether Yoon will be reinstated as president or permanently removed from office.