Impeachment trial of South Korean President Yoon to begin

A supporter of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks in front of a screen that displays his portrait near his residence in Seoul on January 12, 2025. South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol will not attend the first hearing of his impeachment trial next week because of safety concerns, his lawyer said on January 12. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / Agence France-Presse)

SEOUL — The impeachment trial of South Korea’s suspended President Yook Suk Yeol begins Tuesday, 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 bid to stop lawmakers voting down his suspension of civilian rule.

He was impeached soon after and suspended from duty, but has gone to ground in the presidential 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, plunging the country further into political instability, and the current acting president has appeared unwilling to wade into the standoff, instead urging all parties to negotiate for a solution.

READ: South Korea’s Yoon impeachment trial: what could happen?

The trial’s first hearing – out of five lasting until February 4 – is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT). The next hearings take place on January 16, 21, 23, and February 4.

Legal experts say the court will decide two issues, whether Yoon’s martial law declaration was constitutional and, if found to be illegal, whether it amounted to insurrection.

“This impeachment case focuses solely on the martial law situation, so the facts are not particularly complex,” lawyer Kim Nam-ju told Agence France-Presse.

“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.”

But 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.

“Concerns about safety and potential incidents have arisen. Therefore, the President will not be able to attend the trial on January 14,” lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse on Sunday.

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.”

A protester against impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol walks with placards near the presidential residence before sunrise in Seoul on January 13, 2025. (Photo by YASUYOSHI CHIBA / Agence France-Presse)

Arrest attempt on Yoon

Separate to the trial, 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 Yoon.

An earlier attempt failed after Yoon’s presidential guards blocked access to investigators.

If the new warrant is executed successfully, Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.

If eventually convicted in that case, Yoon faces prison or even the death penalty.

The CIO said it would “prepare thoroughly” for its second attempt to arrest Yoon and warned that anyone obstructing them could be detained.

READ: In South Korea, thousands protest as President Yoon digs heels in

The National Office of Investigation, a police unit, sent a note to high-ranking police officials in Seoul requesting they prepare to mobilize 1,000 investigators for the fresh attempt, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Yoon’s guards have reinforced his Seoul compound with barbed wire installations and bus barricades.

Yoon’s legal team has also sought to put pressure on police to avoid being involved in the arrest attempt.

His lawyers released a statement Tuesday saying officers would be “in violation of multiple laws” if they proceeded to execute the “illegal warrant” to detain Yoon.

“We strongly urge the police, who are not obligated to follow investigative directives from the CIO, not to degrade themselves into mere enforcers of illegal actions,” they said.

Late Sunday, the CIO sent a letter to the defense ministry and presidential security service saying anyone blocking Yoon’s potential arrest “may face criminal charges” for obstruction and abuse of authority.