South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol will not attend the first hearing of the trial to determine if he his removed from office or reinstated, Yonhap news agency quoted his lawyer as saying on Sunday.

The president's conservative supporters contend that the country has been overrun by North Korea sympathizers conspiring to destroy South Korea’s freedoms.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s security chief resigned Friday, a week after leading a team that blocked an attempt to arrest the impeached president over his short-lived imposition of martial law.