(L-R) The Constitutional Court of Korea’s eight justices Chung Kye-sun, Kim Bok-hyeong, Jung Jung-mi, Lee Mi-son, Moon Hyung-bae, Kim Hyung-du, Cheong Hyung-sik and Cho Han-chang are seated in their courtroom for the trial of South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol during the tenth hearing over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul on February 20, 2025. Agence France-Presse
SEOUL — South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol faces his final impeachment hearing Tuesday before judges decide whether to formally remove him from office over his disastrous martial law declaration.
Yoon’s short-lived suspension of civilian rule plunged democratic South Korea into political turmoil, and he was removed from office by parliament in December.
The 64-year-old has been behind bars since he was arrested last month on charges of insurrection, for which he could be sentenced to life in prison or even face the death penalty. His trial began last week.
READ: Yoon becomes S. Korea’s first sitting president to go on criminal trial
After weeks of fraught impeachment hearings at Seoul’s Constitutional Court, Tuesday’s court session will be Yoon’s last before the eight judges go behind closed doors to decide his fate.
The ousted president is expected to deliver a closing argument in his defense, with representatives of parliament given time to present the case for his removal.
A verdict is widely expected in mid-March.
READ: How Yoon Suk Yeol carries out politics from behind bars
Previously impeached presidents Park Geun-hye and Roh Moo-hyun had to wait 11 and 14 days, respectively, to learn their fates.
If Yoon is removed from office, the country must hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days.
Much of Yoon’s impeachment trial has centered on whether he violated the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.
The opposition have accused the suspended president of taking the extraordinary measure without proper justification.
‘Legislative dictatorship’
Yoon’s lawyer Kim Hong-il last week insisted that “the declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyse the state”.
Instead, he said, it was meant to “alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party, which had crippled the administration”.
Yoon’s lawyers have also argued that his martial law declaration was necessary to investigate allegations of electoral fraud in last year’s parliamentary elections.
Those unsubstantiated claims have been echoed by Yoon’s supporters on the streets, many holding signs saying “Stop the Steal”, echoing Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud when he lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
A survey by polling company Realmeter released Monday said 52 percent support Yoon’s formal removal from office.
But a Gallup poll, released last week, showed 60 percent in favour and 34 percent against his impeachment.