South Korea’s constitutional court adjourned the opening session of the impeachment trial for suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol just minutes after it began on Tuesday because of his failure to attend.
Mr Yoon declared and quickly revoked a martial law decree last month, leading to political turmoil across the nation.
Earlier, his lawyers had said that Mr Yoon would not attend the hearing due to concerns for his personal safety, as investigators attempt to detain him on charges of insurrection and abuse of power.
The hearing, scheduled for 2pm local time, took place exactly one month after the National Assembly voted to impeach Mr Yoon following his brief imposition of martial law on 3 December.
The first session of the impeachment trial lasted just four minutes in Mr Yoon’s absence, Yonhap news agency reported.
Mr Yoon faces possible removal from office, with the court required to decide within 180 days, and a criminal investigation for alleged insurrection is underway. Authorities are pursuing an arrest warrant after Mr Yoon ignored a summons for questioning.
For weeks, Mr Yoon has remained barricaded within his hillside compound in Seoul, shielded by his presidential security service team, while hundreds of his supporters have gathered outside the gates, pledging to defend him.
While Mr Yoon’s team claims his absence from court is due to detention threats, discussions are ongoing to facilitate his questioning without a direct confrontation.
By law, if Mr Yoon is absent again from the next session scheduled for Thursday, the court may proceed with deliberations on the case without his presence.
Mr Yoon’s lawyers have also called for the exclusion of one of the eight justices, Chung Kye-sun, from the trial, arguing that her previous role as leader of a progressive law research society could compromise the fairness of the ruling.
The court is expected to decide on this request during Tuesday’s hearing.
In another development on Tuesday, the police, the anti-corruption agency of South Korea (Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials) and the presidential security service met to discuss executing a detention warrant for Mr Yoon.
The meeting followed speculation that investigators would attempt to detain Mr Yoon again this week after a failed attempt earlier this month. However, the meeting reportedly yielded few results.
“We requested the cooperation of the Presidential Security Service for the safe and peaceful execution of the warrant, and are waiting for its response,” the police said.
