Top South Korean court begins Yoon impeachment trial

Policemen set up barricades in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul on December 16, 2024, as the court is set to hold its first meeting of its justices to review the parliamentary impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Agence France-Presse

SEOUL — South Korea’s constitutional court kicked off proceedings on Monday over the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been suspended from office over his failed bid to impose martial law.

Yoon was removed by South Korea’s parliament on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to suspend civilian rule, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil in years.

The Constitutional Court has around six months to determine whether to uphold the impeachment.

READ: South Korea’s President Yoon impeached over martial law bid

Fresh elections must be held within two months if he is removed.

The court formally began proceedings at 10 am (GMT 0100) on Monday, a spokesman told AFP.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is serving as interim leader in Yoon’s stead.

A separate investigation into Yoon and his inner circle over the December 3 martial law declaration has rumbled on as the turmoil deepened.

Yoon remains under a travel ban while the probe is underway.

READ: Yoon Suk Yeol impeached: Who could be South Korea’s next leader?

The prosecution said in a news release on Sunday they had summoned Yoon for questioning over the insurrection allegations “but he refused to comply”.

They said they would issue a “second summons”, with Yonhap news agency reporting that could come on Monday.

Vast protests against Yoon, with smaller rallies supporting him, have rocked the South Korean capital since his martial law decree.

Demonstrators in both camps have vowed to keep up the pressure as the Constitutional Court mulls Yoon’s fate.

Police arrested both the current and former heads of the Defense Intelligence Command on Sunday in connection to the insurrection allegations, Yonhap reported.

Prosecutors said they were also seeking an arrest warrant for the head of the Army Special Warfare Command Kwak Jong-keun, according to Yonhap.

Kwak is accused of sending special forces troops to parliament during the martial law bid, sparking a dramatic confrontation between soldiers and parliamentary staff.

The head of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP), who has not been linked to the martial law bid and expressed support for impeachment, said on Monday he would resign.

“I sincerely apologize to all the people who have suffered due to the emergency martial law incident,” Han Dong-hoon told a news conference in Seoul.

North Korea weighs in

The South Korean government has meanwhile sought to project an air of business as usual.

Acting president Han held a call on Sunday with US President Joe Biden, who underscored the strength of bilateral ties.

Han has also ordered the military to “enhance vigilance” against North Korea, with which the South technically remains at war.

North Korean state media decried Yoon as a “ringleader of rebellion” on Monday, its first reaction to his impeachment.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Yoon had attempted to shift responsibility for the “foolish emergency martial law declaration” onto opposition parties.

“The investigation into puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, the ringleader of the rebellion, and his accomplices is under way,” KCNA said.

“The puppet Constitutional Court will finally decide” on whether to remove Yoon, it said.

North Korean state media often refers to the South’s leaders and institutions as being a “puppet” of Seoul’s treaty ally, the United States.

KCNA previously described the South as being “in chaos” over the martial law order.

Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles in violation of UN sanctions.