Ex-President Yoon appears in court for trial

“Your occupation is former president?”

At 10 a.m. on April 14 in Courtroom 417 at the Seoul Central District Court, Judge Ji Gui-yeon of Criminal Division 25 asked this question to former President Yoon Suk Yeol during the opening hearing of his trial on charges of leading an insurrection. Yoon did not respond verbally but gave a slight nod and bow.

Wearing the same deep navy suit and wine-red tie he wore during his Constitutional Court impeachment trial, Yoon entered through the defendant’s entrance. His hair was neatly parted, and he maintained a calm, expressionless demeanor.

Yoon took a seat in the second row of the defense section next to attorney Yoon Gap-geun. By contrast, former President Park Geun-hye sat in the front row during her corruption trial. A total of 12 defense attorneys were present, including Yoon’s mentor, Kim Hong-il. The prosecution was also represented by 12 people, led by Lee Chan-kyu, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Public Investigation Division 1.

When the judges entered the courtroom, Yoon stood and bowed at a 60-degree angle. He nodded silently again when asked to confirm his attendance.

He also nodded in response when asked whether he wished to forgo a jury trial. Once proceedings began, Yoon repeatedly took the microphone to speak in his own defense. During the morning session, he unfolded documents he had prepared and spent 40 minutes arguing the legitimacy of declaring martial law. Shaking his head, he strongly denied the charges, saying, “I simply don’t understand how this amounts to insurrection. It’s like the prosecution pasted together statements like a mosaic.”

To emphasize his points, Yoon raised both hands and moved them up and down. At one point, he pointed at the prosecutors and said, “They keep going back and forth. It’s obstructing efforts to uncover the truth.”


손준영 기자 hand@donga.com