Yoon’s impeachment trial in South Korea was postponed after he failed to show up

Yoon Suk Yeol, the beleaguered leader, did not appear in court on Tuesday, thus the Constitutional Court of South Korea halted the first session of his impeachment trial within minutes.

According to a lawyer for Yoon, the president, who has been hiding away in his hillside mansion in Seoul for weeks, would not be attending because officials wanted to jail him, which would have prohibited Yoon from voicing his opinions during the trial.

Trial procedures will proceed with Yoon’s legal team representing him if he does not show up for the upcoming trial session on Thursday. said Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief justice.

Following talks on his defense plan, Yoon Kab-keun, one of Yoon’s attorneys, stated outside the court that the president will determine whether to appear in person on Thursday.

Yoon has 180 days to determine whether to reestablish his presidential authority or remove him from office.

Because Yoon disregarded a summons to appear for interrogation, police are attempting to execute an arrest warrant and are conducting a criminal investigation into his suspected uprising.

“A legitimate warrant must exist, and… it must be legally presented and executed,” his attorney Yoon said, adding that the current arrest warrant was void. This does not imply “jumping fences or damaging property without presenting a warrant.”

Yoon’s imposition of martial law on December 3rd, which was lifted around six hours later, has caused unheard-of political instability in one of Asia’s most dynamic democracies.

In an effort to prevent a confrontation while the arrest warrant against Yoon is being carried out, Yoon’s chief of staff stated on Tuesday that Yoon’s office can confer with the investigative authorities.

According to a statement released on Tuesday by presidential chief of staff Chung Jin-suk, Yoon may visit a third place outside of his fortified property or arrange for a visit to his home so that he may be questioned by investigative authorities.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the police are among the investigating authorities who have been issued a new arrest warrant by a South Korean court after their initial attempt to detain Yoon for questioning failed following a confrontation with presidential security officers earlier this month.

According to a statement from the investigative authorities, the CIO, police, and Presidential Security Service (PSS) met Tuesday to consider carrying out the most recent arrest warrant.

Police and CIO requested assistance from the PSS at the meeting in order to execute the warrant in a safe and peaceful manner, and they were expecting a response.

The defense ministry announced on Tuesday that Yoon’s warrant execution will not include the mobilization of military units responsible for presidential protection.

In the midst of South Korea’s political turmoil, North Korea launched a number of short-range ballistic missiles on Tuesday, less than a week before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office and during Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya’s visit to Seoul. Following a briefing by the National Intelligence Service, South Korean legislators stated on Monday that the North’s latest weapons tests were partially intended to “show off its U.S. deterrent assets and draw Trump’s attention.”