Suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol faced potentially his last impeachment hearing yesterday over his failed martial law bid before judges begin deliberations on whether to formally remove him from office.
The former prosecutor has remained defiant through weeks of hearings at Seoul’s Constitutional Court, blaming a “malicious” opposition for his bid in December last year to suspend civilian rule.
The attempt only lasted six hours as the opposition-led parliament voted the declaration down, later impeaching him over his attempt to impose martial law.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Yoon was detained last month on insurrection charges, becoming the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested.
Yesterday’s hearing heard evidence from the former chief of South Korea’s intelligence service and one of the heads of Seoul’s Capital Defense Command, the military unit dispatched to the parliament during the short-lived martial law bid.
It is widely expected — but not officially confirmed — to be Yoon’s last hearing before the court’s judges go behind closed doors to deliberate whether to uphold his impeachment.
“The time is ripe for a constitutional assessment,” the lawyers prosecuting the case said yesterday, adding that they would “humbly await the outcome of the impeachment trial.”
That process could take more than a week to a fortnight — formerly impeached former South Korean presidents Park Geun-hye and Roh Moo-hyun had to wait 11 and 14 days, respectively, to learn their fates.
“Many legal scholars and experts agree that a unanimous ruling in favor of impeachment will be made by the Constitutional Court judges,” said Kim Hyun-jung, a researcher at the Korea University Institute of Law.
However, experts also warn that political wrangling could hold up the trial — prominent conservative supporters of Yoon have called for more hearings to be held.
An additional judge could also be approved for the Constitutional Court’s nine-member bench, which is currently one member short.
If the court upholds the impeachment, an election must be held within 60 days to choose a new president.
Much of Yoon’s impeachment trial has centered on the question of whether he contravened the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.
Yoon’s lawyers in a statement to reporters yesterday said that his declaration of martial law was “an act of governance and cannot be subject to judicial review.”
Yoon last week said that even if he had ordered the arrest of lawmakers to prevent them from voting down his decree, it would not legally matter because it had not been carried out.
He is also facing a criminal trial on insurrection charges, for which he faces a prison sentence or the death penalty.
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