The Constitutional Court of South Korea begins its review of the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

On Friday, December 27, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea will hold a session to review the impeachment case against suspended President Yoon Seok-yeol. The reason for this is his declaration of martial law at the beginning of December.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Reuters.

Legal representatives of Yoon Seok-yeol will be present at the first session of the Constitutional Court. The court will examine the impeachment case initiated by parliament due to the brief imposition of martial law. This information was conveyed to the agency by Yoon's advisor.

According to attorney Sok Dong-hyun, two lawyers from Yoon's team are expected to attend the hearing. One is a former prosecutor, while the other is a former speaker of the Constitutional Court.

The court has 180 days to decide whether to reinstate Yoon or remove him. If the latter occurs, new presidential elections will be held within 60 days. Yoon is not required to attend the hearings.

Up until Thursday, Yoon had ignored the court's requests for documents, as well as summonses from investigators regarding a separate criminal case related to his declaration of martial law on December 3, which drew criticism even from some members of his own party.

Martial Law and Political Crisis

The unexpected declaration of martial law by Yoon Seok-yeol on December 3 and its rapid political repercussions shocked the nation and financial markets. The United States and European countries expressed concern, viewing Yoon as a reliable partner in global efforts to counter China, Russia, and North Korea.

The crisis intensified this week when the opposition Democratic Party promised to also impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is currently acting as president. This was prompted by his rejection of calls to immediately appoint three Constitutional Court judges to fill vacant positions.

A parliamentary session is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, December 27. The Democratic Party announced that it would put forward a vote on the impeachment proposal for Han.

The party has been at odds with the prime minister, appointed by Yoon, over the judges, as well as over bills calling for special prosecutors to investigate the president's activities.

On Thursday, December 26, Han stated that appointing judges without bipartisan agreement exceeds his powers as acting president.

The parliamentary vote that will determine Han's fate will take place approximately at the same time as the Constitutional Court conducts its first hearing on the case that will decide whether Yoon will be reinstated as president or permanently removed from office.