By Joyce Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) – The trial of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was set to begin on Tuesday with oral arguments on his short-lived effort to impose a state of emergency that plunged the country into its worst political chaos in decades.
However, the Constitutional Court session is likely to be adjourned as Yoon, who has been holed up in his hillside villa in Seoul for weeks, is not expected to attend.
The next trial is scheduled for Thursday.
The Constitutional Court must decide within 180 days whether to remove Yoon from office or restore his presidential powers.
Yoon also faces a criminal investigation for alleged sedition, with authorities seeking an arrest warrant after he ignored calls to appear for questioning.
Yoon’s declaration of emergency on Dec. 3, which was withdrawn after about six hours, plunged one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies into a period of unprecedented political turbulence.
Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer advising Yoon, said on Monday that the suspended president would not appear at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, saying the authorities’ attempts to detain him prevented Yoon from expressing his views at the trial.
Meanwhile, Yoon’s chief of staff said on Tuesday that Yoon’s office is willing to consult with investigative authorities to avoid conflict during the execution of Yoon’s arrest warrant.
Yoon may go to a third location outside his established 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.
Investigative authorities, including the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) and police, received a renewed arrest warrant from a South Korean court after their first attempt to detain Yoon for questioning failed following a clash with presidential security officials 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, investigative bodies said in a statement.
At the meeting, the police and the CIO asked the PSS for cooperation in the peaceful and safe execution of the order, and they were waiting for a response.
The Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that military forces tasked with presidential security would not be mobilized in connection with the execution of Yoon’s order.
Amid political chaos in South Korea, North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday, coinciding with a visit to Seoul by Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and less than a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office. South Korean lawmakers, after being briefed by the National Intelligence Service, said on Monday that the North’s recent weapons tests were partly aimed at “showing their US deterrence and getting Trump’s attention”.
