As per reports, the following are the latest updates on the South Korean political unrest, as of Tuesday (14 January):

• The Constitutional Court President will conduct its first hearing for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial at 1400 hours of Tuesday (14 January). However, the President will not attend the first hearing of the trial in person, with his lawyer alleging threats to his physical safety.
• By law, if Yoon is absent again from the next hearing scheduled for Thursday (16 December), the court can proceed to deliberate on the case without his attendance.
• The legal representatives of President Yoon have demanded the Constitutional Court exclude one of its eight justices – Justice Jeong Gye-seon – from the trial, alleging that her political ideologies may be a cause for bias. The Constitutional Court said it will convene a meeting of justices on Tuesday (14 January) to address the same.
• The police, the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) for High-ranking Officials and the Presidential Security Service (PSS) met on Tuesday (14 January) to discuss the execution of a warrant to detain President Yoon. The CIO and the police have reportedly made plans to mobilize around 1,000 investigators to ensure the success of a second attempt at detaining Yoon after the first attempt was thwarted by PSS personnel; this has raised concerns about a possible physical clash between law enforcement, the PSS and thousands of protesters who have gathered outside Yoon’s residence.
• The Constitutional Court held the first preparatory hearing for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment trial on Monday (13 January). The preparatory hearing was attended by Han’s legal representatives and those of the National Assembly.