By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-12 07:31:15 | Updated at 2025-01-12 10:20:09
2 hours ago
South Korea’s suspended President Yoon Suk-yeol will not attend the first hearing of his impeachment trial next week because of safety concerns, his lawyer said on Sunday.
Yoon has been holed up in the presidential residence and protected by an elite guard force since being suspended and impeached last month, following a short-lived declaration of martial law that plunged the country into political chaos.
He has refused to meet prosecutors and investigators and his presidential guard unit thwarted an attempt to arrest him following a tense, hours-long stand-off earlier this month.
The Constitutional Court has scheduled five trial dates spanning January 14 to February 4, which will proceed in his absence if he does not attend.
“Concerns about safety and potential incidents have arisen. Therefore, the President will not be able to attend the trial on January 14,” lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said in a statement.
“The President is willing to appear at any time once safety issues are resolved.”
