The Constitutional Court is set to begin an impeachment trial for interior minister Lee Sang-min over accusations of mishandling the fatal Itaewon crowd crush last October.

In the first hearing set to begin at 2 p.m. on Tuesday the court's nine-member panel, joined by two new justices Kim Hyung-du and Jeong Jeong-mi, will listen to arguments from the National Assembly, which filed the impeachment, as well as Lee's legal representatives.

The court will also decide on how many of the eight witnesses requested by the assembly will be called and whether to conduct an on-site inspection of the disaster site.

Minister Lee and Rep. Kim Do-eup, the head of the assembly's legislation and judiciary committee, will both attend the hearing.

In February, a bloc of three opposition parties pushed to pass a motion to impeach the minister, accusing him of violating the Constitution, the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety and the State Public Officials Act. It was the first time that the assembly passed a motion to impeach a Cabinet member.