
AL JAZEERA | Published January 21, 2025
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has rejected allegations at his impeachment trial that he ordered members of the military to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly during last month’s short-lived martial law.
Yoon, 64, told the Constitutional Court in Seoul on Tuesday that he had worked in public service with “a firm commitment to free democracy”.
He was then moved to a military hospital, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The impeached president has been incarcerated since last week under separate criminal charges of leading an insurrection through his attempt to enact martial law in early December, a move that shocked the nation and was overturned within hours by the National Assembly.
Yoon said at the hearing that special forces soldiers sent to the legislature on December 3 were not there to disable the National Assembly or prevent it from blocking his martial law because he knew such an action would have led to an indefensible crisis.
“In this country, parliament and news media are far more powerful than the president, in a far superior position,” he told the court.
If the court rules against Yoon, he would lose the presidency, and an election would be called within 60 days.
His lawyers outlined arguments in defence of Yoon’s martial law declaration, saying it was meant to sound the alarm over abuses committed by the opposition Democratic Party.
They argued the opposition’s actions had paralysed the government and pushed the country’s democratic and constitutional order to the brink of collapse.
“The decree was intended simply to establish the format of martial law and never intended to be executed nor was it possible to execute it because of the potential for conflict with higher-level laws,” lawyer Cha Gi-hwan told the court.
Cha also denied testimony by military commanders involved in the martial law declaration who said Yoon and his top aides ordered the arrests of some members of the legislature who had politically clashed with the president.
The Democratic Party, joined by minority parties and also 12 members of Yoon’s People Power Party, achieved a two-thirds majority vote to impeach Yoon on December 14. The Constitutional Court is now deciding whether to uphold his impeachment.
‘Irrational’ comments
The lawyers prosecuting the case, who were selected by lawmakers, slammed the comments made by Yoon and his lawyers as “largely contradictory, irrational and unclear, making them entirely incomprehensible”.
“If they continue to evade responsibility as they did today, it will only work against them in the impeachment trial and cause even greater disappointment among the public,” they said on Tuesday.
Yoon stayed away from the first two hearings last week, but the trial, which could last months, will continue even if he is absent.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.aljazeera.com
RELATED: South Korea president denies ordering arrest of lawmakers
Image caption,Yoon Suk Yeol made his first appearance at the trial after missing the first few hearings
BBC NEWS | Published January 21, 2025
South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol has made his first appearance at his impeachment trial, where he denied ordering the arrest of lawmakers during his attempt to impose martial law.
Parliament voted to impeach Yoon last month, and last week the Constitutional Court began a trial to decide whether to permanently remove him from office.
Yoon is also facing a separate criminal investigation into whether he led an insurrection. He has been detained since last week.
Security was tight on Tuesday as Yoon was transported by van from the detention centre, where he is being held, to the Constitutional Court.
Police formed human walls and held up anti-riot barricades to stop hundreds of his supporters who had gathered nearby from getting too close. Last weekend saw violence as dozens of Yoon’s supporters clashed with law enforcers and broke into another court house.
On Tuesday, Yoon was asked if he had ordered military commanders to “drag out” lawmakers from parliament on the night he declared martial law, in order to prevent them from overturning his order.
He replied: “No.”
Military commanders had earlier alleged that Yoon had given such an order on 3 December, after lawmakers climbed fences and broke barricades to enter the parliament building and vote down Yoon’s martial law declaration.
“I am a person who has lived with a firm belief in liberal democracy,” Yoon said in his opening remarks on Tuesday.
“As the Constitutional Court exists to safeguard the constitution, I ask that you thoroughly examine all aspects of this case,” he told the judges.
During the hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, Yoon and his lawyers argued that the martial law order was “a formality that was not meant to be executed”.
Yoon had cited threats from “anti-state forces” and North Korea when he declared martial law, but it soon became clear that his move had been spurred not by external threats but by his own domestic political troubles.
The lawyers prosecuting the case, who were selected by the parliament, accused Yoon and his lawyers for making “largely contradictory, irrational, and unclear” comments.
“If they continue to evade responsibility as they did today, it will only work against them in the impeachment trial and cause even greater disappointment among the public,” the prosecutors told reporters after the hearing.
Outside the courtroom, Yoon’s supporters – who have become more agitated and aggressive lately – demanded that the suspended president be released and restored to office immediately.
They were forced to set up some distance from the court due to tight security. Waving their trademark combination of Korean and US flags, some wore Maga-style baseball caps embossed with the slogan “Make Korea Free Again”, an echo of the campaign slogan used by US President Donald Trump.
Some of their chants included calls for the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, and the investigator leading Yoon’s criminal case to be executed.
Several of the supporters told the BBC they believed Yoon’s martial law declaration was an attempt to protect the country’s democracy.
They accused the opposition party of being pro-China and pro-North Korea, and for wanting to turn South Korea into a communist country.
“This is a conflict between people who pursue communism and people who pursue democracy,” said Wongeun Seong, a 49-year-old businessman who joined the protest on the way back from a lunch meeting.

Image caption,Businessman Wongeun Seong joined the pro-Yoon protest on Tuesday
Former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who reportedly suggested martial law to Yoon, will testify during the next hearing on Thursday.
Yoon will be removed from office if at least six of the eight-member Constitutional Court bench votes to uphold the impeachment. A presidential election must then be called within 60 days.
South Korea has been in political chaos since the failed martial law attempt. Thousands of protesters and supporters of Yoon have taken to the streets multiple times despite the winter cold.
The crisis has hit the country’s economy, with the won weakening and global credit rating agencies warning of weakening consumer and business sentiment.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.bbc.com
Be the first to comment