Schools near Constitutional Court may be closed on day of South Korean Prez Yoon's sentencing

Seoul, March 5 (IANS) Schools in the vicinity of Seoul's Constitutional Court will likely be closed on the day of sentencing in South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment trial due to fears of violent protests, officials said on Wednesday.

The Seoul Jungbu District Office of Education said it is considering allowing schools near the court in central Seoul to close on the day of its sentencing hearing in the impeachment trial as part of measures to protect students from a possible outburst of violence from Yoon's supporters or opponents.

The court wrapped up the impeachment trial of Yoon over his December 3 martial law declaration late last month and is scheduled to soon decide whether to remove him from office. The day of the sentencing hearing has yet to be announced.

In January, supporters of Yoon stormed into the Seoul Western District Court in protest against the court's decision to formally arrest the suspended President.

Within 100 metres of the Constitutional Court are Jaedong Elementary School and Deokseong Girls' Middle and High Schools. There are also two other elementary schools and one special school near Exit 5 of Anguk Station, where Yoon's supporters have regularly held protest rallies.

Police have vowed to mobilise all available resources to prevent a potential physical clash on the day of the Constitutional Court's sentencing hearing for the President.

The South Korean Constitutional Court is expected to decide whether to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office or reinstate him around mid-March as it wrapped up hearings of his impeachment trial on Tuesday over his failed martial law bid.

The court capped the trial after 11 rounds, 73 days after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon over his short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3.

If Yoon, who was elected in May 2022 for a single, five-year term, is formally removed from office, a snap election will be held within 60 days. However, if the impeachment is dismissed, Yoon will immediately resume his duties.