The first hearing in the impeachment trial of South Korea’s suspended President, Yoon Suk Yeol, ended after just a few minutes on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, as Yoon failed to appear at the constitutional court.
The trial’s first hearing, out of five lasting until early February, was quickly adjourned due to Yoon’s absence.
The trial, which began on Tuesday in the capital, Seoul, will determine whether to strip Yoon of his presidential duties over a failed power grab in December.
Yoon’s legal team had said he would not appear at the first hearing over purported safety concerns, but would be willing to appear at a later date if security issues were resolved.
Lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said, “Concerns about safety and potential incidents have arisen. Therefore, the President will not be able to attend the trial on January 14.”
The trial will continue in his absence if he does not appear.
Yoon’s absence is not unprecedented: Roh Moo-hyun did not appear at his impeachment trial in 2004, and Park Geun-hye shunned her trials in 2016-2017.
The next hearings are scheduled to take place on January 16, 21 and 23, and February 4, 2025.
Media reports said the court would hear “more substantive arguments” at the next session on Thursday, January 16, 2025, but it was still not clear if Yoon would attend.
Legal experts say the court will decide two issues: whether Yoon’s martial law declaration was constitutional and, if not, 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 a news agency.
The court has 180 days to make its ruling, starting from 14 December, when it received the case on whether Yoon violated the constitution and the martial law act. His lawyers have argued the court must utilise the full 180 days – specifically to examine what “led to the declaration of martial law.”
The legal process has been complicated by the nine-member court’s composition. It currently has eight justices, at least six of whom must uphold the national assembly vote for Yoon to be thrown out of office.
The acting President, Choi Sang-mok, has urged the ruling and opposition parties to quickly agree on the appointment of a ninth candidate, Ma Eun-hyuk.
Fresh Attempt To Arrest Yoon In Preparation
Separate from the trial, police and a joint team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) – which is probing Yoon over allegations of insurrection – are preparing a fresh attempt to arrest Yoon.
An earlier attempt failed after Yoon’s presidential guards blocked the 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 could face 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 investigators could be detained.
It was reported that the National Office of Investigation, a police unit, sent a note to high-ranking police officials in Seoul requesting they prepare to mobilise 1,000 investigators for the fresh attempt.
Meanwhile, Yoon’s guards have reinforced his Seoul compound with barbed wire installations and bus barricades. His legal team has also sought to pressure police not to be involved in the arrest attempt.
Yoon’s lawyers released a statement on Tuesday saying that 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 added.
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