South Korea: Constitutional Court to hold first meeting of justices over President Yoon's impeachment

Seoul (The Uttam Hindu): South Korean Constitutional Court is set to hold its first meeting of its justices Monday to review the parliamentary impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, kicking off preparations for his impeachment trial.

On Saturday, the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, suspending his presidential powers and handing the decision over his fate to the Constitutional Court, Yonhap news agency reported. The court will convene a meeting of its justices for discussions on hearing dates, proceedings to review relevant evidence and others.

After the meeting, the court will announce its results but they will likely not include the deliberation schedule as it is kept confidential under the Constitutional Court Act. On Monday, the court is also expected to deliver a copy of the request of adjudication for Yoon's impeachment to him, and request his response to it. Yoon is not required to make a response. Once the court has completed its preparations, the impeachment hearings will take place in a public manner. Yoon will be required to attend the hearings in principle.

The court has up to 180 days since receiving the case to decide whether to uphold the parliament's decision or have Yoon reinstated. If the decision is upheld, Yoon will become the second President to be ousted after former President Park Geun-hye in 2017, triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days. Earlier, prosecutors said that the President did not comply with their summons for Sunday and added they will soon issue another order.

The special prosecution team handling an investigation into Yoon's botched martial law imposition said it had sent a summons to Yoon last Wednesday, asking him to appear at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office for questioning at 10 a.m. Sunday. Yoon did not show up, Yonhap news agency reported. The impeachment motion against Yoon was passed 204-85 on Saturday, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, after all 300 members of the Assembly cast their votes.

The motion's passage came 11 days after Yoon declared martial law in an announcement that caught the nation by surprise and drew outrage, as troops encircled the National Assembly compound in an apparent attempt to stop lawmakers from repealing the decree. The martial law order, which was lifted within six hours after the Assembly voted it down, has prompted investigations by the police, the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials into whether Yoon staged an insurrection. He is currently banned from leaving the country.