South Korea’s Constitutional Court is set to hold the first preparatory session on Friday for a trial to decide whether to uphold the motion passed by the parliament to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol. The motion was prompted by his brief imposition of martial law earlier this month.
The court proceedings to sort out points of contention, evidence and other issues begin at 2 p.m.
The court must hand down its decision within 180 days of the National Assembly’s vote in favor of the impeachment motion on December 14.
The court says Yoon has refused to accept documents it sent to ask him to attend the trial and submit statements.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency says the president has not turned in a notice of attorney appointment for the trial. It says trial proceedings could make little progress if he is absent from Friday’s session.
Meanwhile, a joint investigation team of authorities, including police, announced on Thursday that it had issued a summons ordering Yoon to appear at its office on Sunday. It was the third such request made by the team.
