Yoon Suk Yeol faces the final session on Tuesday in the Constitutional Court before the judges decide if he will be formally deprived of office for his failed attempt to declare martial law
The South Korean president suspended, on Tuesday (25) faces the last hearing in the Constitutional Court before the judges decide whether it will be formally deprived of office for their failed attempt to declare martial law. The brief interruption of civil command left the country of democratic government in a scenario of political chaos. Yoon was removed from his position in December by Parliament.
Yoon, 64, did not attend the court on Tuesday, where he faced tense audience weeks against the judges of the Superior Court. At the beginning of the sessions, Yoon’s defense cited a 2024 decision of the United States Supreme Court to argue that the deprived president could not be punished for “exercising his constitutional powers.”
The decision, on the current President Donald Trump, “must be considered in the context of dismissal procedures,” said Yoon’s lawyer Lee Dong-chan. In response, opposing lawyer Lee Gum-Gyu made an emotional statement about his son, an active soldier, which he said he would have to participate in Yoon’s martial law.
“As a citizen and as a father, I have a feeling of anger and betrayal of Yoon, who tried to turn my son into a martial law soldier,” he said in court. After the hearing on Tuesday, the eight judges must decide on a private basis of the fate of the prosecutor of impeachment proceedings. Analysts await a decision for mid -March.
In front of the court, Protesters Pro-Yoon criticized the process of dismissal. If the dismissal is approved, the You will have to organize new presidential elections in 60 days. Yoon declared martial law on December 3, but the measure remained in force for only six hours. The decree was revoked by Parliament after the deputies managed to enter the legislature’s headquarters, although the president sent soldiers to block access.
The suspended president has been arrested since his arrest in January on accusations of insurrection, which may result in a conviction to life imprisonment or death penalty. The trial for these accusations began last week.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Victor Oliveira
