South Korea: Yoon will not go to the first hearing of his trial

Ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will not attend the first hearing of his impeachment trial which begins Tuesday at the Constitutional Court, one of his lawyers said Sunday, citing concerns over “security.”

“Concerns about safety and potential incidents have emerged. So the president will not be able to attend the trial on January 14. The president intends to run […] once the security problems are resolved,” explained Me Yoon Kab-keun, in a press release sent to AFP.

Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by Parliament for attempting to impose martial law in early December, in a power move quickly thwarted by MPs. The Constitutional Court was seized of his case on December 14, following the adoption of a motion against him by the National Assembly, and has until mid-June to confirm or overturn this decision.

A crime punishable by death

The court has scheduled five hearings from January 14 to February 4. The trial will go ahead as planned even if Yoon Suk Yeol does not attend.

The former South Korean presidents involved, Park Geun-hye (impeached and imprisoned) and Roh Moo-hyun (re-instated), never came to their trials. Yoon Suk Yeol, 64, is the subject of an arrest warrant and several investigations, including one for “rebellion”, a crime punishable by death.

For the moment, he is escaping the investigators who are trying to seize him and question him, holed up in his home and protected by his guard. He had previously assured that he would appear at his trial.

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