S. Korea's court holds final hearing of President Yoon's impeachment trial

SEOUL -- South Korea's constitutional court held the 11th and final hearing of President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial on Tuesday, with Yoon being present for his final statement.

The hearing opened around 2:00 pm local time (0500 GMT), starting with the examination of evidences from legal representatives of the defendant Yoon and the National Assembly acting as the prosecution in the case.

The lawyers of Yoon and the parliament delivered their respective final arguments, and Yoon appeared at the court at about 9:00 pm local time for his final statement.

Yoon expressed his apology and gratitude to South Korean people over his martial law imposition and support for him. Yoon declared an emergency martial law on the night of Dec 3 last year, but it was revoked by the opposition-led parliament hours later.

The motion to impeach Yoon was passed through the National Assembly on Dec 14 last year and was delivered to the constitutional court to deliberate it for up to 180 days, during which his presidency is suspended.