South Korean court begins impeachment review of President Yoon

• All six justices will attend the impeachment hearing.
• Investigators plan to question the ousted president this week.
• The court has up to six months to decide whether to remove him or reinstate him.

SEOUL: South Korea’s Constitutional Court will on Monday begin hearing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol over the Dec. 3 attempted martial law, with investigators saying they plan to question him this week.

All six of the court’s current judges will attend the first impeachment hearing, which was voted on Saturday by the opposition-led parliament. The court has up to six months to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate him.

Judge Kim Hyung-du said the Constitutional Court will discuss the procedures and manner of conducting arguments.

In 2017, the court began oral arguments about three weeks after parliament voted to impeach then-President Park Geun-hye for abusing the powers of her office, and it took three months to rule on removing her from the presidency.

Yun and several senior officials face possible sedition charges over the short-lived martial law.

A joint team of investigators from the police, the defense ministry and an anti-corruption agency plans to summon Yoon for questioning at 10 a.m. Wednesday, a police official said. Reuters.

Yun failed to appear on Sunday in response to a subpoena from a separate investigation by the prosecutor’s office, it said Yonhap news, adding that Yoon maintained that he was still forming a legal team for his defense.

The government led by Deputy President Han Dak-soo moved quickly to reassure international partners and calm financial markets, while the main opposition party pledged to cooperate in efforts to stabilize the situation.

Early Monday, the finance minister, the governor of the Bank of Korea and top financial regulators met and pledged to keep a 24-hour watch on financial and foreign exchange markets.

The KOSPI rose for a fifth straight session on Monday and traded at its highest levels in more than two weeks as authorities vowed to stabilize financial markets and analysts noted easing political uncertainty.

Yun’s surprise declaration of martial law and the ensuing political crisis spooked markets and South Korea’s diplomatic partners, worried about the country’s ability to deter a nuclear-armed North Korea.

In one of his first moves as acting president, Khan spoke by phone with US President Joe Biden on Sunday, pledging an unwavering commitment to pursue a foreign and security policy based on the alliance between the two countries.

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung welcomed US President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of his former intelligence chief to handle special missions, including on North Korea, as a sign of commitment to dialogue to ease tensions.

Saturday’s impeachment vote passed with at least 12 members of Yun’s ruling People’s Power Party in favor, throwing the party into disarray with its leader Han Dong-hun announcing his resignation on Monday.

Han had publicly advocated Yun’s impeachment as the only way to restore order to the country, and clashed with some members who continued to oppose the move.