South Korean Constitutional Court officially launches impeachment proceedings against Yoon

The South Korean Constitutional Court launched impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday, December 16, two days after his suspension from office. The proceedings began at 10 a.m. local time.

In a statement to the AFP news agency, a spokesperson for the Constitutional Court said: “The first deliberative meeting regarding the impeachment motion began at 10:00 (01:00 GMT).”

President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment proceedings follow his controversial martial law decree. The move, which lawmakers called an “insurrectionary” act, plunged the country into one of the worst political crises in recent years.

On Saturday, December 14, South Korean lawmakers impeached him with 204 votes in favor. With the success of the impeachment proceedings, Yoon is suspended from office while South Korea’s Constitutional Court deliberates whether to uphold his impeachment.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will serve as the country’s interim president.

New elections must be held within two months if Yoon’s impeachment is upheld by the court. The impeached president remains under a travel ban while the investigation is ongoing.

In a press release issued on Sunday (December 15), the prosecution revealed that it had summoned Yoon for questioning over the insurrection allegations “but he refused to comply.” They said they would issue a “second summons” to the embattled leader, and according to the Yonhap news agency, this could happen on Monday.

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Prosecutors also said Sunday they were seeking an arrest warrant for Kwak Jong-keun, head of the military’s Special Operations Command, who allegedly deployed special forces troops to Parliament during the crisis.

Meanwhile, Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, was arrested on charges of insurrection.

(With contribution from agencies)