South Korea: Constitutional Court to Convene for Initial Deliberations on President Yoon's Impeachment
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Seoul, Dec 16 (NationPress) The Constitutional Court of South Korea is scheduled to gather its justices for the first time on Monday to evaluate the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol, initiating the groundwork for his impeachment trial.
On Saturday, the National Assembly approved an impeachment motion regarding Yoon due to his brief enactment of martial law on December 3, which resulted in the suspension of his presidential authority and transferred the determination of his future to the Constitutional Court, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
The court will assemble a meeting of its justices to discuss the scheduling of hearings, procedures for reviewing pertinent evidence, and other related matters.
Following this meeting, the court will disclose its findings, although the deliberation timetable is expected to remain confidential as per the Constitutional Court Act.
On Monday, the court is also anticipated to provide Yoon with a copy of the adjudication request concerning his impeachment and ask for his response, although he is not obliged to reply.
Once the court concludes its preparatory work, the impeachment hearings are set to be conducted publicly, and Yoon will generally be required to attend.
The court has a timeframe of up to 180 days from the receipt of the case to determine whether to affirm the parliamentary decision or reinstate Yoon. Should the decision support the impeachment, Yoon would become the second president to be removed from office following former President Park Geun-hye in 2017, leading to a snap presidential election within 60 days.
Previously, prosecutors indicated that the president failed to comply with their summons for Sunday and noted that another order would be issued shortly.
The special prosecution team investigating Yoon's failed martial law declaration stated that a summons was issued to him the prior Wednesday, requesting his presence at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office for questioning at 10 a.m. Sunday. Yoon, however, did not attend, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
The impeachment motion against Yoon received a vote of 204-85 on Saturday, with three abstentions and eight invalid votes, after all 300 Assembly members participated in the voting process.
The motion's passage occurred just 11 days after Yoon announced martial law, an unexpected declaration that incited public outcry as troops surrounded the National Assembly grounds in an apparent effort to prevent lawmakers from revoking the decree.
The martial law order, which was rescinded within six hours following the Assembly's vote against it, has triggered investigations by the police, prosecution, and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to determine whether Yoon instigated an insurrection. He is currently prohibited from leaving the country.
