President Yoon of South Korea will make a final statement as the impeachment trial comes to a close

Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, is scheduled to make closing remarks on Tuesday as his impeachment trial draws to a close.

In his impeachment trial, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will give his final remarks on Tuesday as the Constitutional Court wraps up public hearings. After parliament impeached Yoon for imposing martial law on December 3 without constitutional grounds, the eight-judge panel will deliberate whether to remove him from office, almost three years into his five-year tenure.

In defense of his choice, Yoon has stated that he only wished to issue a warning about the opposition Democratic Party’s purported misuse of its legislative majority and never planned to impose total military control. His acts, however, were criticized for showing a lack of ability to judge national emergencies, which sparked worries that if martial law were reestablished, he may use it once more.

At 2 p.m. (0500 GMT), the trial’s final hearing will start, and Yoon and parliament’s judiciary committee chairman Jung Chung-rae will make their closing remarks. Days of deliberation are anticipated before the court decides whether to uphold or reverse the impeachment.

Yoon’s martial law order, which prohibited political and parliamentary activities and was only in place for six hours before he revoked it, caused a constitutional crisis. The country was left to be led by the finance minister when the prime minister, who was acting as president, was impeached due to the unrest.

Yoon’s present detention at the Seoul Detention Centre on separate criminal allegations of insurrection leadership further complicates matters. As a result, he is the first current South Korean president to face criminal charges.

The case was formally registered on December 14 and the Constitutional Court has up to six months from then to provide a decision. In 2017, however, former President Park Geun-hye was removed from office barely 11 days after the last arguments in her impeachment trial, setting a precedent.

South Korea must organize a new presidential election within 60 days if Yoon is ousted.