Lawyer says South Korea’s Yoon will not show up for the first hearing of his impeachment trial

Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached president of South Korea, will not attend the initial impeachment hearing because of safety fears, according to his attorney.

Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached president of South Korea, has stated personal safety concerns as the reason for his refusal to attend the Constitutional Court’s initial formal hearing to determine whether to remove or reinstate him. The decision was made in reaction to persistent threats to the president’s security, according to his attorney Yoon Kab-keun.

The hearing is the most recent development in a national political drama that is set for Tuesday. Accusations of corruption and his unsuccessful effort to establish martial law in December have made Yoon a divisive figure who risks impeachment.

After Yoon was not arrested on January 3, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) is preparing to try to arrest him again. A tense, hours-long confrontation with security personnel at the president’s fortified home in central Seoul resulted from that attempt.

Yoon Kab-keun criticized the CIO’s tactics, saying, “The president’s safety is at risk as officials and police try to carry out unlawful arrest warrants through dubious means. In order for him to attend the trial, these security problems need to be resolved.

Yoon’s contentious effort to impose martial law led to the biggest political crisis to hit South Korea in decades, seriously undermining public confidence and forecasts for economic development in the fourth-largest economy in Asia.

Aware that the court’s ruling could change South Korea’s political and economic course, the country keenly monitors the impeachment process as it proceeds.