South Korea’s Constitutional Court has started reviewing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment case, while investigators reportedly plan to question him this week over his shock martial law declaration.
Judges began their deliberations on Monday and the first preparatory hearing will be held on December 27th, according to court officials. Meanwhile, South Korea’s joint investigation team will ask Yoon to appear on Wednesday for questioning over alleged insurrection and power abuse, Yonhap News reported.
The parliament voted on Saturday to impeach Yoon, suspending him from his duties after his brief martial law declaration on Dec 3rd plunged the country into political turmoil. The motion passed after the opposition secured enough support from members of the ruling party. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became the acting president.
Yoon is now awaiting a court ruling on whether he will be removed or restored to office, a decision that can take up to 180 days from the passage of the impeachment. In previous cases, the process typically took two to three months. It’s optional for the parties involved in the case to attend the preparatory hearing later this month, according to court spokeswoman Lee Jean.
The court is supposed to have nine members, but currently only has six justices. That would still be enough to rule on Yoon’s case if it couldn’t be avoided, according to Lee. The opposition party wants the remaining nominees to be approved by December. It will ultimately be up to the acting president to decide whether to appoint them.
The speaker of the National Assembly promised that the parliament would act quickly to appoint the remaining judges, two of whom have been nominated by the opposition and one by the ruling party.
South Korea’s currency and stock market initially rallied after Yoon’s impeachment, and then gave back gains as investors shifted their attention back to the broad economic worries that have weighed on sentiment.
“Delays or complications until the judiciary reaches a decision may result in a prolonged disruption to economic activity including through work stoppages,” said Anushka Shah, a senior credit officer at Moody’s Ratings, adding this would be credit negative.
Yoon said Saturday he would never give up, signalling his intent to fight in court to retain his power. Investigative officials are seeking to question him over opposition allegations that he committed treason. They may even seek an arrest warrant for him, local media reported.
The leader of South Korea’s ruling party Han Dong-hoon said he is stepping down at a televised press conference on Monday following mounting calls for his resignation.
Yoon appointed Han as his first justice minister after winning the 2022 presidential election. The two fell out with each other after Han left the government and took the helm of the People Power Party earlier this year.
Han called for supporting the impeachment just before the parliament put the motion to a vote on Saturday, drawing criticism from within his party that he was helping lay a path for opposition leader Lee Jae-myung to take power should Yoon be ousted.
While apologising to PPP supporters who are unhappy with Yoon’s impeachment, Han said Monday he doesn’t regret supporting it. – Bloomberg