South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to make a closing statement on Tuesday in a Constitutional Court trial reviewing his impeachment, as public hearings wrap up and his political fate is placed in the hands of eight judges, APA reports citing Yonhap.
Yoon faces being removed from office less than three years into his five-year presidency if the court upholds parliament's impeachment, which accused him of declaring martial law on December 3 with no justifiable constitutional grounds.
The president has said in his trial he had a right to declare martial law but never meant to impose full military rule, instead arguing he intended to sound a warning over the opposition Democratic Party's abuse of its parliamentary majority.
Yoon and the chairman of parliament's judiciary committee, Jung Chung-rae, will give their final statements on Tuesday at a hearing that is due to start at 2 p.m. (0500 GMT). The justices are expected to take days to rule on whether to remove him from office or reinstate him.
Yoon has said during the trial that martial law, which lasted just six hours before he rescinded the decree, was not a failure but simply ended sooner than he intended.
He also said there was no point in debating accusations that he ordered military commanders to break into parliament to remove lawmakers gathering to lift the martial law decree because "nothing actually happened" and nobody was harmed.
Yoon's arguments drew a rebuke from parliament that the president is incapable of judging what constitutes a national emergency that requires such an extreme act and that he might attempt to impose martial law again if he is reinstated.
His shock martial law announcement, which imposed a ban on political and parliamentary activity, triggered a constitutional crisis that also led to the impeachment of the prime minister who was acting president. The finance minister currently leads the country.
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