South Korea’s impeached president has denied that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting to reject his martial law decree last month, as he appeared for the first time before the Constitutional Court that will determine his fate.

A South Korean court on Friday rejected a request from the prosecutors' office to extend the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over a criminal investigation into his short-lived martial law declaration on Dec.

South Korea looks set for a dramatic political showdown this week as impeachment proceedings kick off against suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, who remains holed up in his fortified residence evading arrest for a separate criminal investigation.