The Constitutional Court began its eighth hearing Thursday in President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial in connection with his short-lived martial law decree in December.

Thursday’s hearing will feature three witnesses: National Intelligence Service(NIS) chief Cho Tae-yong; the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Kim Bong-sik; and Cho Sung-hyun, the head of the First Security Group of the Capital Defense Command.

The NIS chief, a witness requested by Yoon’s legal team, is likely to be questioned about an alleged order from Yoon to arrest politicians on the night of December 3. 

The court is expected to ask the former Seoul police chief how the police force was dispatched to the National Assembly and whether there was an order to block access to the Assembly. 

Cho Sung-hyun, the only witness called by the Constitutional Court, is considered a key witness who will testify whether the martial law troops deployed to the National Assembly were instructed to drag lawmakers out of the building. 

The court is expected to announce the schedule for the rest of the trial, including whether to call additional witnesses, at the end of the hearing.