Constitutional Court set to rule on Yoon's impeachment at 11am

Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a hearing at his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Jan. 21. Yonhap

The Constitutional Court is set to rule Friday on whether to dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

The verdict will be announced by the court at 11 a.m., capping a four-month-long saga that began with Yoon's surprise declaration of martial law and saw his arrest and subsequent release while causing considerable damage to the country's political, economic and social fabric.

Yoon was impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly in mid-December on charges of violating the Constitution and laws through his martial law bid.

The case has centered on whether he broke the law by engaging in five key actions: declaring martial law, writing up a martial law decree, deploying troops to the National Assembly, raiding the National Election Commission and allegedly attempting to arrest politicians.

If the court upholds the impeachment motion, Yoon will be removed from office and the country will be required to hold a snap presidential election within 60 days. If the motion is dismissed or rejected, Yoon will return to office immediately.

Under the Constitution, the consent of at least six justices is required to uphold an impeachment motion. There are currently eight justices on the bench.

The key is not only whether Yoon violated the law but also whether the violation was serious enough to warrant his dismissal.

Yoon has denied wrongdoing, saying the order was meant as a warning to the main opposition party for what he described as its abuse of legislative power.

He will not appear at the court for the verdict due to considerations about public order and security, his legal team said.

Thirty-eight days is the longest the court has taken to deliver its ruling on a president's impeachment following the final hearing.

In the past cases of former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, it took the court 14 days and 11 days, respectively.

In addition to the impeachment trial, Yoon has been standing a criminal trial on charges of inciting an insurrection through his martial law bid.

He was detained by investigators in January and held at a detention center until March 8, when he was released following a court ruling that his detention was invalid. (Yonhap)