S. Korea court begins review of Yoon impeachment

SEOUL — South Korea's Constitutional Court on Monday began reviewing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol over his Dec 3 martial law proclamation, starting a process to decide if he will be removed from office, while investigators plan to question him this week on criminal charges.

The court will hold the first public hearing on Dec 27, spokeswoman Lee Jean told a news conference after the court's six justices met to discuss plans for reviewing the impeachment by the opposition-controlled parliament on Saturday.

The court has up to six months to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or to reinstate him. The first hearing will be "preparatory "to confirm major legal issues of the case and the schedule among other matters, Lee said.

Yoon and some of his inner circle face possible life imprisonment, or even death penalty, if found guilty, and he remains under a travel ban.

Prosecutors issued Yoon with a second summons on Monday for questioning over insurrection and abuse of power allegations after he "refused to comply" with a similar request a day earlier.

A joint team from the police, the Defense Ministry and an anti-corruption agency asked that the suspended president appear to answer questions on Wednesday but were rebuffed by his office, Yonhap news agency reported.

Investigators could seek a court-issued arrest warrant should he continue to refuse.

Yoon was removed by South Korea's parliament on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to suspend civilian rule, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil in years.

Fresh elections must be held within two months if his removal is upheld by the Constitutional Court. Prime Minister Han Ducksoo is serving as interim leader.

Yoon, himself a career prosecutor before becoming president, has named a former prosecutor, Kim Hong-il, to lead a team of attorneys in the impeachment review and criminal investigations, local media reported. Kim could not be immediately reached for comment.

Protests erupt

Vast protests against Yoon, with smaller rallies supporting him, have rocked the South Korean capital since his short-lived martial law decree.

Demonstrators in both camps have vowed to keep up the pressure as the Constitutional Court considers Yoon's fate.

Police arrested both the current and former heads of the Defense Intelligence Command on Sunday in connection to the insurrection allegations, Yonhap reported.

Prosecutors also arrested the head of the Army Special Warfare Command Kwak Jong-keun, Yonhap said.

Kwak is accused of sending special forces to parliament during the martial law bid, sparking a dramatic confrontation between soldiers and parliamentary staff members.

The head of Yoon's ruling People Power Party, who has not been linked to the martial law bid and expressed support for impeachment, also resigned on Monday.

"I sincerely apologize to all the people who have suffered because of the emergency martial law incident," Han Dong-hoon told a news conference in Seoul.

In declaring martial law, Yoon vowed to "eliminate anti-state elements" and suggested South Korea's electoral system was vulnerable to outside interference.

Han Dong-hoon condemned on Monday "extremists such as election fraud conspiracy theorists" and warned "there will be no future for conservatism" if the party entertained those views.

Agencies via Xinhua