January 22, 2025
Seoul – President Yoon Seok-yeol faced an impeachment trial at South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday and denied that he ordered lawmakers to be kicked out of parliament the night he declared martial law on Dec. 3.
Yoon defended himself against a bill approved by Congress that would have required him to be removed from office for declaring martial law, rejecting opponents' claims that he intended to block a parliamentary vote to lift martial law.
“If it is claimed that the deployment of troops under martial law hinders parliament, does that mean that martial law will continue indefinitely? I don't think so,” he said after watching a surveillance video submitted as evidence to the National Assembly showing the use of troops by the military. The parliament building was entered by force.
“In South Korea, the National Assembly and the media have greater power than the president. Even if I try to block the resolution to lift martial law, it can still be done in venues other than the National Assembly,” Yoon told the judge.
He added, “If anyone tries to prevent (the adoption of a resolution to lift martial law), that will be an action that cannot be taken after the fact.”
When the court's acting president Moon Hyung-bae asked Mr. Yoon whether he had submitted a memorandum to then-Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok setting aside a budget for the operation of the emergency legislature, Mr. Yoon said no.
“I only found out about (the memo) after martial law was lifted and read about it in the news, which was grossly inaccurate. The only person who drafted (such a memo) was the defense minister, but since he had been The arrest, I couldn’t verify with him, the details (in the memo) are quite contradictory themselves,” Yoon told the judge.
Yoon is the first sitting president in the country's history to become a criminal suspect. He entered the courtroom at 2 p.m. wearing a navy suit, shirt and red tie instead of the prison uniform he is required to wear in his 10-square-meter solitary cell at the Seoul Detention Center.
When Moon Jae-in, the court's acting president, asked Yoon if he had anything to say before the trial, Yoon said briefly that he was “sorry to the judges” for drawing attention.
“Throughout my career in public service, I have firmly upheld my belief in liberal democracy. Since the Constitutional Court exists to uphold the Constitution, I implore our judges to carefully review all aspects of this case,” Yoon told the judge.
Tuesday's hearing was the third in Mr. Yin's impeachment trial and the first in which Mr. Yin attended.
Neither former presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, who faced impeachment trials in 2004 and 2017 respectively, appeared in court in person.
During the trial, Yoon and his lawyers sought to justify the declaration of martial law to remove doubts about the credibility of the electoral system.
Yin denies this is a conspiracy theory.
“The person who knows the best about this case is the president himself. Congress has consistently called election fraud a conspiracy, an accusation made up after the fact to justify a declaration of martial law.
“But even before martial law was declared, people had already raised doubts about the fairness of the election. (So the troops were sent to the National Election Commission on December 3) not to expose electoral fraud per se, but to inspect the computer equipment of the National Election Commission After discovering many errors, we wanted to see if we could inspect the running systems. The Intelligence Bureau conducted an investigation in October 2023.
During the trial, Yoon's lawyers presented photos of irregular ballots or cardboard with crushed seals as evidence of election fraud.
Yin's team also focused on explaining why the declaration of martial law was “just a formal procedure without any intention of enforcement.”
“The purpose is to appeal to the people and warn them against unprecedented legislative overreach and to prevent actions that are harmful to the country's diplomatic and security interests. The purpose is to prevent the collapse of the liberal democratic order,” Yoon's lawyer Cha Ki-hwan told the judge.
“It is not enforceable and there is no implementation plan. It does not include the necessary enforcement mechanisms. Therefore, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun drafted Proclamation No. 1 with reference to the martial law precedent just to fulfill the formalities,” he said, sitting next to Mr. Yoon in court. said.
Police increased security in the area ahead of Yin's appearance at the Constitutional Court. According to police, 64 units of 4,000 police officers were deployed and vehicle roadblocks were set up around the block where the court is located.
Earlier in the day, the court said details about Yoon Eun-hye's security and his entry into the court were “confidential” under an agreement with the president's security team.
However, based on precedent, Yoon is expected to be transported from the Seoul Detention Center to the Constitutional Court in a Justice Ministry vehicle and enter the court via an alternative route.
The case has heightened tensions among Yin's staunch supporters as he continues to defend the legality of martial law and criticize the opposition-led impeachment.
After a detention order was issued on Sunday, Yoon's supporters carried out a violent attack on the Seoul West District Court that day, leading to growing calls for tighter security at the Constitutional Court.
The nine-judge court is tasked with upholding or overturning Yin's impeachment by June 11. meeting.
