Sawt Falasteen - South Korea opposition urges swift ruling on president's fate

Yoon was impeached by lawmakers over his disastrous December 3 declaration of martial law, and the court last month held weeks of tense impeachment hearings to decide whether to formally strip him of office.

Despite experts predicting a verdict by mid-March, the Constitutional Court has yet to rule -- making Yoon's case the longest deliberation in its history.

Some 100,000 people took to Seoul's streets over the weekend, police said Monday, with protests demanding Yoon's immediate removal from office, alongside large gatherings in support of him.

"The nation and its people have reached their limits. Tension and patience have already been pushed beyond their bounds," opposition MP Kim Min-seok told a party meeting Monday.

"We await a responsible decision from the Constitutional Court. Any further delay would be abnormal and irresponsible."

Police have said they were prepared to mobilise "all available equipment" to prevent unrest when the court announces the impeachment verdict.

Yoon's supporters have already stormed a Seoul court once, smashing the doors and windows of a district court in Seoul after a judge there extended Yoon's detention, and authorities have warned of violence around the impending verdict.

"We are discussing the temporary closure of nearby shops and gas stations on the day of the verdict," a police official told AFP Monday.

Park Hyun-soo, acting chief of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters last week that the police would "designate the area within 100 metres of the Constitutional Court as a protest-free zone, effectively creating a 'vacuum' in that space."

Park said police were undergoing additional training involving the use of pepper spray and batons, adding that the agency was also considering deploying police special forces to "respond to bomb threats".

In addition to the impeachment verdict, Yoon also faces a criminal trial on charges of insurrection for declaring martial law in December, making him the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case.

He was detained in a dawn raid in January on insurrection grounds, but was released in early March on procedural grounds.

M.Qasim--SF-PST