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South Korean constitutional court officially kicks off impeachment proceedings against Yoon

South Korean constitutional court officially kicks off impeachment proceedings against Yoon

File image of South Korea's embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol.

South Korea's constitutional court on Monday (Dec 16) kicked off impeachment proceedings against President Yoon Suk Yeol, two days after he was suspended from office. The proceedings began at 10:00 am local time.

In a statement to AFP news agency, a spokesperson for the Constitutional Court said: "The first deliberative meeting in regard to the impeachment motion began at 1000 am (GMT 0100)."

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Why is Yoon facing impeachment proceedings?

The impeachment process of President Yoon Suk Yeol follows his controversial martial law decree. The move, which lawmakers described as an "insurrectionary" act, had thrown the nation into one of its worst political crises in recent years.

On Saturday (Dec 14), South Korean lawmakers impeached him with 204 votes in favour. With the success of the impeachment bid, Yoon stands suspended from office as South Korea's Constitutional Court deliberates on whether to uphold his removal.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will step in as the nation's interim president.

Fresh elections must be held within two months if Yoon's removal is upheld by the court.The impeached president remains under a travel ban while the probe is underway.

In a news release onSunday (Dec 15), the prosecution revealed that theyhad summoned Yoon for questioning over the insurrection allegations "but he refused to comply".They said that they would issue a "second summons" to the embattled leader, and as perYonhap news agency that could come on Monday.

Watch |South Korea: PM Han Took Charge As Interim President, Calls For Military Bolster Ties With US

Prosecutors on Sunday also said they are seeking an arrest warrant for Kwak Jong-keun, head of the Army Special Warfare Command, who allegedly deployed special forces troops to parliament during the crisis.

Meanwhile, Yeo In-hyung, the Defence Counterintelligence Command's chief, was arrested on insurrection charges.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Moohita Kaur Garg

Moohita Kaur Garg is a senior sub-editor at WION with over four years of experience covering the volatile intersections of geopolitics and global security. From reporting on global...Read More