April 15, 2025
Seoul – Former President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in Seoul's Central District Court on Monday to defend himself against prosecutors' claims that his martial law constituted an act of revolt.
Yoon was formally removed from the office by the Constitutional Court earlier this month.
“This is different from the martial law and the law that was designed to impose military rule in the past, and declared that martial arts clearly made the public aware of the desperate situation in the country. It was to protect freedom and democracy. Military coups and (military) destroyed freedom and democracy.
The prosecutor outlined the charges, the hearing continued, and argued that the Yuan-imposed martial law order constituted an attempt to undermine the constitutional order, an offence under section 87 of the Criminal Act.
The article stipulates that “people who cause violence to usurp the territory of the state or subvert the constitution shall be punished.”
According to the prosecution, the Yuan appointed former Presidential Security Agency head Kim Yong-hyun to serve as Secretary of Defense in early September 2024 (a few months before the implementation of martial law) in preparation for the martial law declaration.
But the former president rejected the allegation, claiming martial law is something the government has always needed to prepare for.
“That's why South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff have a department that deals with martial law. In the event of a possible national emergency, it is for the practice of implementing martial arts. I know that routine martial law-related drills conducted by Capital Defense Command and Depenta Counterintelligence Commands are related to martial law,” Yoon said.
Prosecutors accused the Lord of trying to undermine the constitutional order by deploying military personnel to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission. They claimed that the former president considered a series of measures to arrest no warrants, prevent major politicians from entering the National Assembly and to create a new legislative body under the Emergency Martial Arts Ordinance.
Yoon said that when talking about the bills led by multiple opposition leaders who have senior impeachment officials and have narrowed the state budget, Yoon said he could no longer ignore the situation and think that state affairs are paralyzed and that the constitution has been violated.
The former president argued that his decision to exercise presidential authority was within the scope of the Constitution.
Yoon is the fifth former president facing criminal trial.
After 10 legal representatives in the Yuan Dynasty took 10, Yoon entered the court at 9:50 AM – 10 minutes before the trial began, wearing a navy suit, white shirt and dark wine-colored tie, in a third impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court on January 21, which was similar to his outfit.
Although Yoon tried to remain silent when he tried to verify his identity by asking for his name, date of birth and career, he stated his residence address in court for the first time.
Yoon sometimes whispered to one of his lawyers Yoon Kab-Keun, prosecutors claim that the former president intends to hinder the vote on parliament's martial arts behavior.
Yoon rejected the allegations after hearing prosecutor's statements for more than an hour.
“I sent martial law troops to the NEC to check how its servers are managed because I have received reports from the National Intelligence Agency that NEC's servers have major vulnerabilities. I have never ordered military personnel to search or catch the server without a warrant,” Yoon said.
The removed president stressed that he did not send the martial law army to the headquarters of the main opposition Democratic Party, whose office or local voting agency is called Flower.
Yoon also insists that he is trying to minimize the deployment of military personnel to maintain public order and prevent possible accidents after the Martial Law is announced.
Monday's hearing was held in a way that reduces Yoon's public exposure outside and inside the courtroom.
The former president entered the court building through an underground parking lot ahead of Monday morning’s hearing because the court previously granted him access to underground after considering security measures to protect the court building and prevented inconvenience to other petitioners.
Photography is prohibited in court before and during the hearing.
By contrast, the media was allowed to abuse the power in 2017 and the first official hearing in 2018 by former President Lee Myung-Bak. The court at the time recognized the historical significance of the case and considered the high level of public interest.
Yoon occupies the farthest seat from the audience. The same legal representative who defended him in the recent impeachment trial surrounded the removed president, and it was difficult to spot the defendant even for those attending the hearing.
