President Yoon Suk Yeol faces impeachment and potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority, and obstructing rights following his brief imposition of martial law on 3 December. Investigations are ongoing.

South Korea’s constitutional court has begun reviewing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol following his attempt to impose martial law on 3 December, a process that will determine whether he is removed from office.

The court’s first public hearing is scheduled for 27 December, according to court spokesperson Lee Jean, who made the announcement during a news conference. This follows a meeting on Saturday where the court’s six justices discussed plans to review the impeachment initiated by the opposition-controlled parliament.

The court has up to six months to decide whether Yoon will be removed or reinstated. Lee explained that the first hearing will be preparatory, aiming to confirm major legal issues in the case, set schedules, and address other procedural matters. Yoon is not required to attend this initial hearing. In comparison, the court took three months in 2017 to rule on the impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye, who was removed for abusing her office’s powers.

Yoon, along with several senior officials, faces potential charges of insurrection, abuse of authority, and obstructing people from exercising their rights, all connected to the brief imposition of martial law. A joint investigation team, consisting of police, the defence ministry, and an anti-corruption agency, has planned to summon Yoon for questioning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, a police official told Reuters.

Attempts to deliver a summons for Yoon to appear were unsuccessful, as the presidential security service declined to accept it when investigators tried delivering it to the presidential office and his official residence, Yonhap news reported.

On Sunday, Yoon failed to appear in response to a separate summons issued by the prosecutors’ office, also according to Yonhap. Yoon reportedly stated he had not yet formed a legal team for his defence.

The leader of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, announced his resignation on Monday, stating his position had become untenable after he decided to support Yoon’s impeachment over the weekend.

“Martial law in the advanced nation that is South Korea, in 2024. How angry and disappointed must you have all been?” Han said at a press conference.

Han, a former justice minister and once Yoon’s closest ally, defended his decision to break ranks with the president, citing the dangers posed by the martial law decree. “Even though [the martial law] was done by a president our party produced, being misunderstood as defending illegal martial law that mobilised the military is a betrayal of this great country,” he said. Han admitted he had been “terrified” by the prospect of violence between citizens and soldiers if martial law had not been overturned.

“I tried in every possible way to find a better path for this country other than impeachment, but in the end, I could not. It’s all because of my shortcomings. I’m sorry,” Han added.

Han’s resignation marks a definitive rupture in his once-close alliance with Yoon, which began during their time working together in the prosecution service before Yoon’s presidency. Their relationship began to show signs of strain earlier this year, when Han publicly suggested that Yoon and his wife should apologise following allegations that the first lady had accepted a luxury Dior handbag.

The breaking point came after revelations that Han was among several politicians—along with opposition figures—whom Yoon had ordered to be arrested during the brief period of martial law. Han subsequently called on ruling party lawmakers to back the president’s impeachment, arguing that Yoon posed “a great danger” to democracy.

The fallout reflects deeper fractures within South