In the nation’s first criminal prosecution of an incumbent leader, South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in Seoul on Thursday for his initial trial hearing on insurrection-related charges. Prosecutors accused Yoon last month of inciting an uprising by imposing martial law for a brief period of time on December 3.
Yoon was transported to the court by a justice ministry motorcade from the Seoul Detention Centre, where he is being detained. To maintain security, lines of police buses were stationed outside the court. Given the seriousness of the case, prosecutors demanded quick procedures, but Yoon’s attorneys insisted they needed more time to go through the documents.
One of Yoon’s attorneys told the court that Yoon had “no intention to paralyse the country,” adding that the purpose of declaring martial law was to inform the public about the “legislative dictatorship of the huge opposition party.”
Yoon’s martial law proclamation, which stunned the nation and attempted to control the media and prohibit political and parliamentary activities, might result in years in prison if found guilty.
The prime minister was also impeached and suspended from office, and senior military officials were charged for their roles in the scandal, which caused political turmoil in the fourth-largest economy in Asia and a major ally of the United States.
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