Seoul: The Constitutional Court is set to hold the final hearing of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial, capturing national attention as the president prepares to defend his brief imposition of martial law. The hearing is scheduled to commence at 2 p.m., featuring an examination of evidence and concluding arguments from the legal representatives of both President Yoon and the National Assembly, which serves as the prosecution in this case.

According to Yonhap News Agency, President Yoon, alongside Rep. Jung Chung-rai of the main opposition Democratic Party and head of the Assembly’s impeachment panel, will have unlimited time to deliver their final arguments. President Yoon is anticipated to use this opportunity to clarify the circumstances surrounding his unexpected declaration of martial law on December 3, and to argue against the legitimacy of the investigation conducted by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and the prosecution.

A key point of interest is whether President Yoon will issue a public apology for the political unrest following his martial law declaration and subsequent impeachment. On the other hand, Rep. Jung has indicated his intention to argue for President Yoon’s removal from office, outlining differences between Yoon’s claims and the factual narrative, and proposing ways for the nation to navigate the current crisis.

The National Assembly’s impeachment motion contends that President Yoon violated the Constitution and legal norms by declaring martial law without a national emergency and bypassing necessary procedures, such as convening a Cabinet meeting and notifying parliament. President Yoon, however, maintains that his martial law declaration was a governance measure intended to caution the opposition party against its recurrent impeachments of government officials and its efforts to slash the government budget.

Legal experts predict that the court will announce its decision on whether to remove President Yoon from office or to reinstate him within two weeks of Tuesday’s hearing, drawing on the examples of former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye.