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South Korea’s constitutional court held its first hearing to decide whether suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol should be removed from office after his shocking attempt to implement martial law last month.
It ended in four minutes due to Yoon’s absence; His attorneys had previously said he would not attend for his own safety, as there is a warrant out for his arrest on separate charges of insurrection.
In December, Yoon was suspended after members of his own party voted with the opposition to remove him.
However, he will only be formally removed from office if at least six of the eight members of the court vote in favor of confirming the impeachment.
Under South Korean law, the court must set a new hearing date before it can proceed without his participation.
The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
Yoon’s lawyers have indicated that he will appear for a hearing at an “appropriate time” but have challenged the court’s “unilateral decision” on trial dates.
The court on Tuesday rejected the lawyers’ request that one of the eight judges be recused from the proceedings.
Yoon has not made public comments since parliament voted to impeach him on Dec. 14 and has been speaking primarily through his lawyers.
Investigators are also separately preparing for another attempt to arrest Yoon for alleged insurrection, after a previous attempt on Jan. 3 ended following an hours-long standoff with his security team.
Yoon is the first sitting South Korean president to face arrest. The second attempt to stop him could occur this week, according to local media.
The suspended leader has made no public comments since parliament voted for his dismissal on December 14 and has spoken mainly through his lawyers.
Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law on December 3 has plunged South Korea into political turmoil. He had tried to justify the attempt by saying he was protecting the country from “anti-state” forces, but it soon became clear that he was driven by his own political problems.
What followed was an unprecedented few weeks in which the opposition-dominated parliament voted to oust Yoon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who succeeded him as acting president.
The crisis has hit the country’s economy, with the won weakening and global credit rating agencies warning of weakening consumer and business confidence.
Former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye did not attend their impeachment trials in 2004 and 2017, respectively.
In Park’s case, the first hearing ended after nine minutes of absence.
Roh was reinstated after a two-month review, while Park’s impeachment was upheld.
