South Korea: Constitutional Court to hold first preparatory hearing on Yoon's impeachment on Dec 27

Seoul, Dec 16 (IANS) The South Korea's Constitutional Court said Monday that it will hold its first preparatory hearing on the Parliamentary impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol on December 27, kicking off the judicial procedures for his impeachment trial.

The court announced the decision in a meeting of its justices held to discuss the proceedings, including deciding on dates for the high-stakes hearing to review arguments and relevant evidence.

On Saturday, the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Yoon over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3, suspending his presidential powers and handing the decision over his fate to the Constitutional Court.

The court said it has delivered a copy of the request of adjudication for Yoon's impeachment to him and is in the process of requesting his response. Yoon is not required to make a response, Yonhap news agency reported.

The court said it will prioritise Yoon's impeachment trial.

The top court has up to 180 days to deliver the ruling on whether to uphold the impeachment and remove Yoon from office, or reinstate him.

Once the court has completed its preparations, the impeachment hearings will take place in a public manner. Yoon will be required to attend the hearings in principle, but he is not obliged to attend the first preparatory hearing set for December 27.

If upheld, Yoon will become the second president to be ousted after former President Park Geun-hye in 2017, triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days.

Earlier in the day, the joint investigation unit into the martial law turmoil was attempting to deliver a summons for President Yoon Suk Yeol to appear for questioning this week over his declaration of martial law earlier this month.

The joint team between the police, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the Defence Ministry's investigation unit seeks to question Yoon as a suspect on charges of insurrection and abuse of power in connection to the martial law imposition on December 3.

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