SEOUL — South Korea’s Constitutional Court is set to start reviewing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol on Dec 16, following his Dec 3 attempt to impose martial law, according to a court spokesperson. Investigators plan to question Yoon later this week, as reported by Yonhap News.

The court’s six current justices will convene for the initial impeachment proceedings, which were approved by the opposition-led Parliament on Dec 14. The court has a six-month timeframe to determine whether Yoon will be removed from office or reinstated.

Justice Kim Hyung-du stated that the court will outline procedures and decide on the approach for hearing arguments. In a precedent from 2017, the Constitutional Court began oral arguments three weeks after Parliament voted to impeach then-President Park Geun-hye for abusing her office, delivering a ruling to remove her within three months.

Yoon and several high-ranking officials may face insurrection charges for the brief martial law. A joint investigative team from the police, Defence Ministry, and an anti-corruption agency plans to summon Yoon for questioning at 10 am on Dec 18, a police official told Reuters.

On Dec 15, Yoon declined a separate summons from the prosecutors’ office, citing the need to finalize his legal team, Yonhap reported. Meanwhile, acting president Han Duck-soo has been working to reassure international partners and stabilize financial markets. The main opposition party pledged its cooperation to help restore order.

South Korea’s financial leadership, including the finance minister, Bank of Korea governor, and top financial regulators, met early on Dec 16 to commit to round-the-clock monitoring of financial and currency markets. The KOSPI index rose for a fifth consecutive session, reaching its highest point in over two weeks as political uncertainty eased.

Yoon’s unexpected declaration of martial law sparked a political crisis, unsettling markets and raising concerns among South Korea’s allies about its ability to manage tensions with nuclear-armed North Korea. In a call on Dec 15, acting president Han assured US President Joe Biden of South Korea’s steadfast commitment to the US alliance in pursuing foreign and security policies.

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung welcomed US President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of his former intelligence chief to lead special missions on North Korea, seeing it as a signal of renewed focus on dialogue to reduce tensions.

The Dec 14 impeachment vote passed with support from at least 12 lawmakers from Yoon’s ruling People Power Party, plunging the party into turmoil. Party leader Han Dong-hoon announced his resignation on Dec 16 after supporting Yoon’s impeachment as a necessary step to restore order, despite opposition from some party members.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from Reuters