The trial of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was set to start on Tuesday with oral arguments over his short-lived bid to impose martial law which threw the country into the worst political chaos in decades.

The impeachment trial of South Korea's suspended President Yook Suk Yeol begins Tuesday, with the country's Constitutional Court set to weigh whether to strip him of his presidential duties over a failed martial law bid.

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.