South Korea's Yoon faces last impeachment hearing over martial law

by Kang Jin-kyu

South Korea's ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing his final impeachment hearing on Tuesday before judges decide whether to formally remove him from office over his disastrous martial law declaration.

Yoon's short-lived suspension of civilian rule plunged democratic South Korea into political turmoil, and he was removed from office by parliament in December.

After weeks of fraught impeachment hearings at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Tuesday's proceedings began at 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) but Yoon was not present, an AFP journalist in the courtroom said.

In opening remarks, Yoon's defense team cited a 2024 US Supreme Court ruling, Donald Trump v. the United States, arguing that the ousted president cannot be punished for "exercising his core constitutional powers".

That ruling "should be considered in the context of impeachment proceedings", Yoon's lawyer Lee Dong-chan said.

In response, opposition lawyer Lee Gum-gyu spoke emotively about his son, an active duty soldier he said would have been forced to participate in Yoon's martial law.

"As a citizen and a father, I feel a sense of rage and betrayal toward Yoon, who tried to turn my son into a martial law soldier," he told the court.

Tuesday's session is Yoon's last before the eight judges go behind closed doors to decide his fate.

A number of lawmakers from his ruling People Power Party (PPP) were in attendance.

Proceedings were tense, with PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong heard swearing at an opposition lawyer.

Yoon is expected to deliver a closing argument in his defense, with representatives of parliament given time to present the case for his removal.

Outside the court, pro-Yoon protesters chanted "Drop impeachment!"

Some held signs denouncing the Chinese Communist Party and North Korea -- which some of Yoon's supporters have accused, without evidence, of interfering in recent South Korean elections to the benefit of the opposition.

Others held signs saying "Stop the Steal", echoing US President Trump's false claims of voter fraud when he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

A verdict is widely expected in mid-March.

Previously impeached presidents Park Geun-hye and Roh Moo-hyun had to wait 11 and 14 days, respectively, to learn their fates.

If Yoon is removed from office, the country must hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days.

- 'Legislative dictatorship' -

The 64-year-old has also been behind bars since he was arrested last month on charges of insurrection, for which he could be sentenced to life in prison or even face the death penalty. His trial began last week.

Much of the impeachment trial has centred on whether Yoon violated the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.

The opposition has accused the suspended president of taking the extraordinary measure without proper justification.

Yoon's lawyer Kim Hong-il insisted last week that "the declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyse the state".

Instead, he said, it was meant to "alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party".

Yoon's lawyers have also argued that his martial law declaration was necessary to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud in last year's parliamentary poll.

A survey by polling company Realmeter released on Monday said 52 percent of respondents support Yoon's formal removal from office.

But a Gallup poll, released last week, showed 60 percent in favor and 34 percent against his impeachment.

© Agence France-Presse