South Korea’s constitutional court kicked off proceedings on Monday over the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has been suspended from office over his failed bid to impose martial law. Yoon was removed by South Korea’s parliament on Saturday over his short-lived attempt to suspend civilian rule, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil in years. The Constitutional Court has around six months to determine whether to uphold the impeachment. Fresh elections must be held within two months if he is removed. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is serving as interim leader in Yoon’s stead. The court formally began proceedings at 10 am (GMT 0100) on Monday, a spokesman told AFP. A separate investigation into Yoon and his inner circle over the December 3 martial law declaration has rumbled on as the turmoil deepened. Yoon remains under a travel ban while the probe is underway. The prosecution said in a news release on Sunday they had summoned Yoon for questioning over the insurrection and abuse of power allegations “but he refused to comply”. They said they would issue a “second summons”, with Yonhap news agency reporting that could come on Monday. Separately, the leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party announced his resignation Monday following the National Assembly’s decision to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3. Han Dong-hoon said during a press conference that he could no longer continue in his role due to pressure from the party’s Supreme Council, according to Yonhap News Agency. Han’s resignation follows the passage of an impeachment motion Saturday by the National Assembly against President Yoon with 204 votes in favor and 85 against. The motion held that Yoon’s martial law declaration was unconstitutional. The 300-seat National Assembly, where the opposition bloc holds 192 seats, required support from at least eight ruling party lawmakers to achieve the qualified majority necessary for the motion to pass. Meanwhile, North Korean state media on Monday issued its first report on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, dubbing him a “ringleader of rebellion” for having launched a bid to impose martial law. Nearly two days after the impeachment vote, the dispatch from the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not provide any quotes from North Korean officials, who have been relatively tight-lipped over the South’s political turmoil. Less than a dozen sentences long, the KCNA report gave a brief outline of the events surrounding Yoon’s impeachment, claiming he had attempted to shift responsibility for the “foolish emergency martial law declaration” onto opposition parties. “The investigation into puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, the ringleader of rebellion, and his accomplices is under way,” KCNA said. “The puppet Constitutional Court will finally decide” on whether to remove Yoon, it added. North Korean state media often refers to the South’s leaders and institutions as being a “puppet” of its treaty ally, the United States. KCNA did not comment on the December 3 martial law declaration until about a week later, describing the South as being “in chaos” over the order. Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles in violation of UN sanctions. It also has been bombarding the South with trash-carrying balloons since May, in what it says is retaliation for anti-Pyongyang propaganda missives sent North by activists. North Korea has become one of the most vocal and important backers of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, with Washington and Seoul accusing it of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Moscow.