SEOUL: South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was facing his final impeachment hearing on Tuesday before judges decide whether to formally remove him from office over his disastrous martial law declaration.
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 began at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT) but Yoon was not present, an AFP journalist in the courtroom said.
In opening remarks, Yoon’s defense 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.
In response, prosecutor Lee Gum-gyu 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.
Thursday’s session is Yoon’s last before the eight judges go behind closed doors to decide his fate.
A number of lawmakers from his ruling People Power Party were in attendance.
Yoon is expected to deliver a closing argument in his defense, with representatives of parliament given time to present the case for his removal.
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 centered on whether Yoon violated the constitution by declaring martial law, which is reserved for national emergencies or times of war.
The opposition has accused the suspended president of taking the extraordinary measure without proper justification.
Yoon’s lawyer Kim Hong-il insisted last week that “the declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyze the state.”
Instead, he said, it was meant to “alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party.”
Yoon’s lawyers 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.
But a Gallup poll, released last week, showed 60 percent in favor and 34 percent against his impeachment.
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South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol faces last impeachment hearing over martial law
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South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol faces last impeachment hearing over martial law
- Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived suspension of civilian rule plunged democratic South Korea into political turmoil
- Thursday’s session is Yoon’s last before the eight judges go behind closed doors to decide his fate
Hong Kong firm begins arbitration proceedings over ruling against its Panama Canal port contract
- The Hutchison subsidiary has operated ports at both ends of the Panama Canal since 1997
- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio views the operation of the ports as a national security issue
HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings said Wednesday its subsidiary started arbitration proceedings against Panama after that country’s Supreme Court ruled a concession for the subsidiary to operate Panama Canal ports was unconstitutional.
Hutchison said it strongly disagreed with last week’s ruling, and China warned Panama would pay “a heavy price” if it persisted. Panama’s president has moved to assure the public that the ports would operate without interruption after the ruling, which advanced a US aim to block any influence by China over the canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Hutchison’s subsidiary, Panama Ports Company, began arbitration proceedings Tuesday under the rules of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, the company said in a statement.
The rules are overseen by the chamber’s International Court of Arbitration, an independent body, and it’s unclear what the impact of the proceedings would be. The Panamanian president’s office and commerce ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Tuesday local time.
The ruling draws ire from China
The court ruling has drawn backlash from China, and the tensions may complicate Hutchison’s plan to sell its port assets in dozens of countries to a group that includes the US investment firm BlackRock Inc.
The planned sale has already been caught up in tensions between Beijing and Washington. US President Donald Trump, who has alleged that China interferes with the canal, initially welcomed that plan. However, it apparently angered Beijing and drew a review by Chinese anti-monopoly authorities.
On Tuesday night, Beijing’s office overseeing Hong Kong affairs criticized the Panama court ruling as legally groundless and ridiculous, saying the ruling reflected that Panamanian authorities were bowing down to hegemonic powers. It did not specify the countries but pointed to politicians from some countries who had said they were “encouraged” by the ruling, in an apparent veiled reference to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a statement shared on social media platform WeChat, the office said that China will never bow to hegemonism and has sufficient means and tools, as well as capability, to uphold justice in the international economic and trade order.
“Panama’s authorities should recognize the situation and correct their course,” it said. “If they persist in their own way and refuse to see reason, they will pay a heavy price both politically and economically!”
A company caught in US-China tensions
The Hutchison subsidiary has operated ports at both ends of the Panama Canal since 1997. The awkward position Hutchison found itself in highlights the challenges Hong Kong business elites face in navigating Beijing’s expectations of national loyalty, especially during U.S-China tension. CK Hutchison is owned by the family of Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing.
The company said last July that it was considering seeking a Chinese investor to join as a significant member of the consortium under its sale plan, a move that some interpreted as way to please Beijing, but CK Hutchison hasn’t said more since.
The consortium also includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, which is chaired by Italian shipping scion Diego Aponte, whose family reportedly has a longstanding relationship with Li’s.
Last May, Hutchinson co-managing director, Dominic Lai told shareholders that Terminal Investment was the main investor.
Panama’s government has maintained it has full control over the canal and that the operation of the ports by Hutchison does not mean Chinese control of it. But Rubio made clear that the US viewed the operation of the ports as a national security issue.
Hutchison said it strongly disagreed with last week’s ruling, and China warned Panama would pay “a heavy price” if it persisted. Panama’s president has moved to assure the public that the ports would operate without interruption after the ruling, which advanced a US aim to block any influence by China over the canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Hutchison’s subsidiary, Panama Ports Company, began arbitration proceedings Tuesday under the rules of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, the company said in a statement.
The rules are overseen by the chamber’s International Court of Arbitration, an independent body, and it’s unclear what the impact of the proceedings would be. The Panamanian president’s office and commerce ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Tuesday local time.
The ruling draws ire from China
The court ruling has drawn backlash from China, and the tensions may complicate Hutchison’s plan to sell its port assets in dozens of countries to a group that includes the US investment firm BlackRock Inc.
The planned sale has already been caught up in tensions between Beijing and Washington. US President Donald Trump, who has alleged that China interferes with the canal, initially welcomed that plan. However, it apparently angered Beijing and drew a review by Chinese anti-monopoly authorities.
On Tuesday night, Beijing’s office overseeing Hong Kong affairs criticized the Panama court ruling as legally groundless and ridiculous, saying the ruling reflected that Panamanian authorities were bowing down to hegemonic powers. It did not specify the countries but pointed to politicians from some countries who had said they were “encouraged” by the ruling, in an apparent veiled reference to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a statement shared on social media platform WeChat, the office said that China will never bow to hegemonism and has sufficient means and tools, as well as capability, to uphold justice in the international economic and trade order.
“Panama’s authorities should recognize the situation and correct their course,” it said. “If they persist in their own way and refuse to see reason, they will pay a heavy price both politically and economically!”
A company caught in US-China tensions
The Hutchison subsidiary has operated ports at both ends of the Panama Canal since 1997. The awkward position Hutchison found itself in highlights the challenges Hong Kong business elites face in navigating Beijing’s expectations of national loyalty, especially during U.S-China tension. CK Hutchison is owned by the family of Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing.
The company said last July that it was considering seeking a Chinese investor to join as a significant member of the consortium under its sale plan, a move that some interpreted as way to please Beijing, but CK Hutchison hasn’t said more since.
The consortium also includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, which is chaired by Italian shipping scion Diego Aponte, whose family reportedly has a longstanding relationship with Li’s.
Last May, Hutchinson co-managing director, Dominic Lai told shareholders that Terminal Investment was the main investor.
Panama’s government has maintained it has full control over the canal and that the operation of the ports by Hutchison does not mean Chinese control of it. But Rubio made clear that the US viewed the operation of the ports as a national security issue.
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