South Korean Court Begins Impeachment Trial Process for President Yoon

The constitutional court of South Korea has started trial proceedings on the motion to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was suspended for proclaiming martial law and bringing political ruin to his country.

Following protests that have dragged him into having people consider that he should resign, MPs voted for impeachment against Yoon last Saturday.

The court now has six months to rule on whether Yoon will be removed or reinstated. Yoon's ruling People Power Party has been grappling with the fallout ever since, with its leader announcing his resignation on Monday.

While public hearings for Yoon's impeachment trial could take months, the court is under pressure to decide quickly and bring an end to political uncertainty. Protesters have sworn to keep up their calls for Yoon's removal during court proceedings.

In the previous two examples a South Korean president was impeached, one charge was reversed by the court while upholding the other.

Doubt had prevailed as to whether the trial on Yoon's case could proceed, given that the court currently has only six justices out of nine. Three justices retired recently and have not yet been replaced.

But the court said on Monday it could run Yoon's trial with just six judges, and set a preliminary hearing date for 27 December.

If the court upholds impeachment in Yoon's case, the country must hold fresh presidential elections within 60 days. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is serving as acting president.

It is unclear if Yoon will take the stand himself during the court hearings.

He disregarded a summons to meet prosecutors in Seoul on Sunday, and is set to be ordered in again for questioning. If he fails to come forward this week, police may take action to arrest him.

Yoon has justified putting martial law in place and stated that he would once again fight to the end after being impeached.

A few minutes after the Constitutional Court started its session in the early morning, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People's Power Party, stepped down.

"I sincerely apologise to all the people who are suffering from this emergency situation," Han said in the press conference.

Han has been hearing the demands of his resignation more often, especially from the big pro-Yoon faction of his party, since the impeachment of the president.

Han had initially tried to stage an orderly exit for Yoon. But when it became clear that Yoon was not backing down, Han did an about-face and called for his impeachment, saying it was the only way to remove him from office.

Of the 12 PPP lawmakers believed to have voted for impeachment last Saturday, most of the other PPP lawmakers voted against Yoon's impeachment.

After that vote, all five members of the Supreme Council of the party stated they would resign - this would automatically lead to the disbanding of the party leadership.

As the Supreme Council has been "destroyed", Han said, it was now "impossible" to serve his duties as party chief.

In reference to his decision to call for Yoon's impeachment, Han stated, "While it pains me to think of my heartbroken supporters, I don't regret it."