Sawt Falasteen - S. Korea opposition urges court remove Yoon over martial law

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 are his final before judges decide whether to formally remove him from office over his disastrous martial law declaration.

In an emotional closing statement recalling his own torture at the hands of South Korea's military regime in the 1980s, opposition lawmaker Jung Chung-rae urged the court to uphold the impeachment.

"Blindfolded with my underwear, I endured four hours of torture. Being alive was pain in itself," Lee said, stopping for a few seconds to compose himself.

If martial law had succeeded as Yoon had planned, he urged the court to consider that "countless people would not have had their lives spared".

Court proceedings began at 2:00 pm (0500 GMT) and are expected to continue late into the evening.

Yoon will deliver a closing argument in his defence.

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.

Opposition lawyer Lee Gum-gyu also 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.

A number of lawmakers from his ruling People Power Party (PPP) were in attendance.

Proceedings were tense, with PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong heard swearing at an opposition lawyer.

- Ruling expected in March -

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.

If Yoon is removed from office, the country must hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days.

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.

- 'Legislative dictatorship' -

The opposition has accused the suspended president of taking the extraordinary measure without proper justification.

Yoon's lawyers, in turn, have said Yoon declared martial law to alert the country to the dangers of "legislative dictatorship" by the opposition.

They have also argued that his martial law declaration was necessary to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud in last year's parliamentary poll.

A survey by polling company Realmeter released on Monday said 52 percent of respondents support Yoon's formal removal from office.

In contrast, a Gallup poll, released last week, showed 60 percent in favour and 34 percent against his impeachment.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST