South Korea's Constitutional Court has postponed the opening of the first hearing in the impeachment trial of ousted President Yoon Suk-yeol after he failed to appear in court, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Yoon's lawyer said the former president, who has been holed up in his Seoul residence for weeks, would not attend the hearing. He said authorities' attempt to detain Yoon had prevented him from expressing his views during the trial.
The next court hearing is scheduled for Thursday. If Yoon then decides not to appear again, the trial will begin in his absence, with his legal team representing him. Yoon Kab-kyun, one of the former president's lawyers, said the decision on whether Yoon will appear on Thursday will be made after discussing the defense strategy with his legal team.
The Constitutional Court was expected to begin the substantive hearing of Yoon's impeachment case today. On December 3, it issued a decree declaring martial law, which was lifted shortly after. The court must decide within 180 days whether to uphold the impeachment and permanently remove Yoon from office or to reinstate him and restore his presidential powers.
Yoon is also facing a criminal investigation for allegedly organizing a rebellion by declaring martial law. For this reason, a warrant was issued for his arrest, which the authorities are trying to execute after Yoon refused to appear for questioning.
Today, his lawyer reiterated that the arrest warrant is invalid because it was issued by the wrong jurisdiction. He said Yoon would only comply with a detention order if it was issued and executed in accordance with the law.