UPDATE - Impeached SKorean leader skips start of trial

UPDATES THROUGHOUT

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) - South Korean President Park Geun-hye failed to meet a request to attend the start of her impeachment trial Tuesday, with the Constitutional Court wrapping up its first hearing just nine minutes after it started according to local media.

The court can now move ahead without Park if needed as the next hearings are slated for this Thursday and next Tuesday.

Nine justices have a six-month window to reach a decision following a vote by Seoul’s parliament on Dec. 9 to oust the president, whose approval rating fell to a record-low 4 percent in November over a snowballing power abuse scandal.

More than a dozen allegations against her were trimmed down during a preparatory hearing last month to focus on claims that Park not only failed to fulfill her duties as president but also allowed private confidante Choi Soon-sil to hold sway over state affairs while they worked together to force conglomerates to donate millions of dollars.

Also to be examined is an older suspicion concerning Park’s alleged failure to protect citizens on the day the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, which claimed 304 lives.

Choi along with a pair of key former presidential aides have been selected as witnesses in the impeachment trial, having already faced state prosecutors, an independent investigation team and lawmakers.

Unlike those advisors, Park is legally protected for now by her position -- although a verdict against her could bring forward an election that was originally planned for the end of this year anyway.

The suspended leader broke her weeks-long silence Sunday when holding a meeting with reporters, during which she blamed the scandal on misleading media coverage.