In 2017, former president Park Geun-hye was removed from office 11 days after the final arguments in the Constitutional Court in her impeachment trial.
South Koreans have gathered in huge numbers in the capital Seoul supporting and backing the conservative leader’s removal, saying the delay has been frustrating and made confusion worse.
Yoon was impeached by the Democratic Party-controlled parliament in December for violating his constitutional duty. He committed acts that are a grave threat to the rule of law and more than disqualify him from office, the impeachment motion said.
Yoon is on a separate criminal trial on charges of leading insurrection, which is punishable by death or life in prison.
The fallout of Yoon’s martial law declaration has widened the rifts between the conservatives and liberals and those in the public, adding stress on institutions and putting much of the government policy-making in limbo.
Some of the country’s top military commanders have been taken off duty and face criminal trials for their roles in the martial law decree. Arguments in the trial of former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun on insurrection charges begin on Monday.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who was briefly acting president after Yoon was impeached and suspended from power on Dec 14, has also been impeached and the country is now led by the Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok.
