Seoul, Jan 6 South Korea's Constitutional Court plans to hold its first pretrial hearing on the impeachment trial of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on January 13, judicial officials said on Monday.
The court has informed the legal representatives of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister that it would hold the first preparatory hearing on Han's impeachment at 4 p.m. next on Monday, according to the officials.
The Opposition-dominated National Assembly voted to impeach Han on December 27, less than two weeks after he took over as acting president due to President Yoon Suk Yeol's own impeachment over his short-lived imposition of martial law.
The hearing will discuss witness and evidence selection among other preparatory procedures, while Han will not be required to attend it. Such sessions usually take place two to three times before oral arguments begin.
The main Opposition Democratic Party has listed Han's alleged involvement in Yoon's martial law imposition and his refusal to appoint new Constitutional Court justices as grounds for his impeachment.
The ruling People Power Party has called Han's impeachment invalid, filing an injunction for its suspension to the Constitutional Court, Yonhap news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, South Korea's anti-corruption agency asked the police to take over the execution of a warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid, both sides said.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) made the request in an official letter late on Sunday, with one day left until the warrant's expiration.
"The CIO sent us an official letter requesting our cooperation without prior consultation," a police official told Yonhap News Agency. "We are internally conducting a legal review."
The CIO had halted its execution of the warrant last Friday after an hours-long standoff with presidential security staff at the presidential residence.
The agency had been working with the police and the Defence ministry's investigation unit to conduct a joint probe into Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3.
With the warrant set to expire at midnight, the CIO was expected to make a second attempt at detaining Yoon or request an extension, among other options.
Sources said the CIO's letter was prompting complaints within the police that the agency was trying to shift its responsibilities after passively executing the warrant last Friday.
Yoon's legal team has rejected the warrant as illegal and invalid, noting that the CIO is not technically authorised to investigate the charges of insurrection that Yoon faces over his martial law decree.
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