S. Korea’s Yoon will not attend first impeachment hearing, says lawyer

SEOUL: South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk-yeol will not attend the first hearing of his impeachment trial next week because of safety concerns, his lawyer said on Sunday.

Yoon has refused questioning and last week resisted arrest in a tense stand-off between his guards and investigators after his short-lived power grab plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.

“Concerns about safety and potential incidents have arisen. Therefore, the president will not be able to attend the trial on Jan 14,” lawyer Yoon Kab-keun said in a statement sent to AFP.

“The president is willing to appear at any time once safety issues are resolved.”

The Constitutional Court has scheduled five trial dates spanning Jan 14 to Feb 4, which will proceed in his absence if he does not attend.

Investigators seeking to question Yoon on insurrection charges linked to his ill-fated martial law declaration secured a new warrant this week and are preparing another arrest attempt.

Yoon would become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested if investigators are able to detain him.

He is being investigated on charges of “insurrection” and, if formally arrested and convicted, faces prison or even the death penalty.