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.

The impeachment trial of South Korea's suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol begins on Tuesday to decide the former star prosecutor's fate after his short-lived martial law decree. The country's Constitutional Court will rule on whether to uphold parliament's decision to impeach Yoon or restore his presidential powers.

There were more than 100 police officers and they were armed with a warrant, but South Korean authorities failed to arrest suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol after a six-hour deadlock outside his home.