Former President Yoon appears at first martial law trial

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared in court as a defendant on Sept. 26 at the first hearing in a case newly indicted by the special prosecutor over the Dec. 3 illegal martial law. It was his first public appearance in 85 days since he was re-arrested in July, after previously declining to comply with court proceedings and the special prosecutor’s probe.

The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 35 held the first hearing on the morning of Sept. 26 in the special prosecutor’s case, which includes charges of obstruction of official duties. Yoon entered the courtroom with the inmate number “3617” pinned to his left chest. His hair was gray and he wore a navy suit without a tie. He had been handcuffed and secured with a restraint strap while being transferred from the detention center, but was unshackled upon entering the courtroom.

The special prosecutor presented five charges, including obstruction of the execution of a warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, infringement of the deliberation and approval process for martial law, and the retroactive drafting of the martial law proclamation. Yoon’s defense said the actions were taken under constitutional authority and argued that some counts amounted to double prosecution because they had already been charged.

The court allowed live broadcasting from the start to the end of the trial. When the special prosecutor outlined the allegation of retroactively drafting the proclamation, Yoon said, “I came to sign the proclamation on Dec. 7 last year, so the Defense Ministry officer should have drafted it and submitted it through the minister or the prime minister to the president. I only admonished the secretary who was handling it,” asserting he was not involved in any retroactive drafting.

At the subsequent bail hearing, Yoon said, “It is difficult to attend four to five weekly trials while in detention. If bail is granted, I will appear diligently while not in custody.” He added that special prosecutor interrogations sometimes lasted up to 14 hours, limiting his ability to exercise his defense rights, and argued that forcing his attendance would be impossible.

The special prosecutor requested weekly concentrated hearings to expedite the trial. The court said the special prosecutor law requires the first trial to be completed within six months and added that hearings would be held primarily on Fridays, with Tuesdays added if necessary. A citizen-participation trial will not proceed, as Yoon’s defense declined it.


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