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South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol (left) attends the tenth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, on February 20, 2025. [AFP]
South Korea's ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing his final impeachment hearing on Tuesday before judges decide whether to formally remove him from office over his disastrous martial law declaration.
Yoon's short-lived suspension of civilian rule plunged democratic South Korea into political turmoil, and he was removed from office by parliament in December.
After weeks of fraught impeachment hearings at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Tuesday's proceedings began at 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) but Yoon was not present, an AFP journalist in the courtroom said.
In opening remarks, Yoon's defence team cited a 2024 US Supreme Court ruling, Donald Trump v. the United States, arguing that the ousted president cannot be punished for "exercising his core constitutional powers".
That ruling "should be considered in the context of impeachment proceedings", Yoon's lawyer Lee Dong-chan said.
In response, prosecutor Lee Gum-gyu spoke emotively about his son, an active duty soldier he said would have been forced to participate in Yoon's martial law.
"As a citizen and a father, I feel a sense of rage and betrayal toward Yoon, who tried to turn my son into a martial law soldier," he told the court.
Thursday's session is Yoon's last before the eight judges go behind closed doors to decide his fate.
A number of lawmakers from his ruling People Power Party were in attendance.
Yoon is expected to deliver a closing argument in his defence, with representatives of parliament given time to present the case for his removal. Outside the court, pro-Yoon protesters chanted "Drop impeachment!"
Some held signs denouncing the Chinese Communist Party and North Korea -- which some of Yoon's supporters have accused, without evidence, of interfering in recent South Korean elections to the benefit of the opposition.
Others held signs saying "Stop the Steal", echoing US President Trump's false claims of voter fraud when he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden. A verdict is widely expected in mid-March.
Previously impeached presidents Park Geun-hye and Roh Moo-hyun had to wait 11 and 14 days, respectively, to learn their fates.
The 64-year-old has also been behind bars since he was arrested last month on charges of insurrection, for which he could be sentenced to life in prison or even face the death penalty. His trial began last week.
Much of the impeachment trial has centred on whether Yoon violated the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.
The opposition has accused the suspended president of taking the extraordinary measure without proper justification.
Yoon's lawyer Kim Hong-il insisted last week that "the declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyse the state".
Instead, he said, it was meant to "alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party".
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting,
digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading
multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
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