Impeachment trial of South Korea’s Yoon adjourned after he does not attend By Reuters

By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s Constitutional Court adjourned the opening hearing of the impeachment trial of suspended President Yun Suk-yeol within minutes on Tuesday after the embattled leader failed to appear in court.

A lawyer advising Yoon had said the president, who has been holed up in his hillside villa in Seoul for weeks, would not attend, saying the authorities’ request to detain him prevented Yoon from taking the stand during the trial.

The next hearing is scheduled for Thursday, and if Yoon also chooses not to participate in the trial, it will begin with his own legal team representing him.

Outside court, Yoon Kab-kyung, one of Yun’s lawyers, said the president would decide whether to go to court in person on Thursday after discussions on his defense strategy.

The Constitutional Court must decide within 180 days whether to remove Yun from office or restore presidential powers.

Yun also faces a criminal investigation for alleged sedition, and authorities are seeking an arrest warrant after he ignored a summons to appear for questioning.

On Tuesday, his lawyer reiterated that the investigative authorities’ arrest warrant was invalid, and said Yun would respond to a valid arrest warrant that was legally enforced.

Yun’s Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, which was withdrawn about six hours later, plunged one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies into a period of unprecedented political turmoil.

Yoon’s chief of staff said Tuesday that Yoon’s office is willing to consult with investigative agencies to avoid a conflict in the execution of Yoon’s arrest warrant.

Yoon may go to a third location outside his fortified residence, or a visit to his home may be arranged so investigative authorities can question Yoon, presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said in a statement on Tuesday.

Investigating agencies, including the Corruption Perceptions Office (CIO) and police, received a re-arrest warrant from a South Korean court after a first attempt to detain Yoon for questioning failed following an altercation with the president. security guards earlier this month.

The CIO, the police and the Presidential Security Service (PSS) met on Tuesday to discuss the execution of the latest arrest warrant, the investigating agencies said in a statement.

In the meeting, the police and the CIO requested the PSS to cooperate in carrying out the order peacefully and safely and awaited a response.

The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that military forces responsible for presidential security would not be mobilized in response to Yun’s order.

Amid South Korea’s political chaos, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday to coincide with a visit to Seoul by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and less than a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office. After being briefed by the National Intelligence Service on Monday, the North’s recent weapons tests were partly intended to “demonstrate US deterrence” assets and draw Trump’s attention.