The Constitutional Court is set to hold the first formal hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial Tuesday with Yoon absent from the proceedings out of safety concerns.
The hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be held exactly a month after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon over his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.
Yoon, who has been suspended from his duties, will not attend the hearing due to concerns about his personal safety amid investigators' attempt to detain him on charges of insurrection and abuse of power related to his martial law decree, according to his lawyers.
In his absence, the hearing is expected to conclude quickly. By law, if Yoon is absent again from the next hearing scheduled for Thursday, the court can proceed to deliberate on the case without his attendance.
Yoon's lawyers have demanded the exclusion of one of eight justices -- Chung Kye-sun -- from the trial, citing concerns her past work as leader of a progressive law research society will undermine the chances of a fair ruling.
The court is expected to announce its decision on the request during Tuesday's hearing.
The court has 180 days to decide whether to uphold or reject Yoon's impeachment from the day it received the case on Dec. 14.
If upheld, Yoon will be removed from office, triggering a snap presidential election within 60 days. If dismissed, he will be reinstated. (Yonhap)
