South Korea’s Former President Yoon Denies All Charges At First Hearing Of New Martial Law Trial

SEOUL, Sept 26 (Bernama-Yonhap) -- Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol denied all charges at his second trial on martial law-related allegations Friday, his first public appearance since being placed under arrest in July, Yonhap News Agency reported. 

The jailed former president was brought from Seoul Detention Centre, just south of the capital, to the Seoul Central District Court ahead of the first hearing, which began at 10.15 am and will be broadcast online after personal information is anonymised.

Dressed in a dark navy suit and appearing visibly thinner, he entered the courtroom wearing his inmate number, "3617," on his chest.

Standing in the dock, he responded to the judge's identity check by stating his birthday and home address before declining a jury trial.

Yoon, who is already standing trial on charges of leading an insurrection through his failed attempt to impose martial law in December, is being tried additionally on charges of violating the rights of Cabinet members, revising the martial law proclamation and obstructing his detention by investigators in January.

He also faces charges of ordering the deletion of call records and the distribution of false statements.

During the hearing, Yoon's lawyers disputed the charges one by one, claiming the former president had declared martial law in an emergency and lifted it following the National Assembly's vote to repeal it.

Special counsel Cho Eun-suk and his team indicted Yoon with "political motivations" rather than basing it on the law, they said.

Yoon defended himself over the alleged false proclamation, which investigators believe was drafted after the decree was lifted in a bid to enhance the legitimacy of his actions, but later discarded.

"I scolded (former presidential secretary Kang Eui-gu), but he said he would just hold on to it," Yoon said, referring to Kang's drafting of the document.

The last time the ousted president appeared in public was on July 9, when he attended an arrest warrant hearing. After the court issued the warrant, Yoon was incarcerated a second time, and he has since refused to attend his insurrection trial or comply with summonses by special counsel teams investigating his case.

Yoon's lawyers earlier said his attendance at Friday's hearing was required by law as a condition for launching the new trial.

The special counsel team asked the court for swift proceedings. In response, the bench said it plans to hold hearings at least once a week, mostly on Fridays but also on Tuesdays in the event two hearings are held in a week.

The trial hearing was followed by a hearing on the former president's request for bail. Broadcasting it was earlier denied by the court.

In making his case, Yoon spoke for 18 minutes about how being in detention makes it difficult to attend his trials and comply with questioning by investigators.

"I have to attend trial four to five times a week and go when the special counsel calls, but I can't do that in a state of arrest," he said, claiming he had faithfully attended his trial and questioning prior to his arrest.

"If you grant bail, I plan to exercise a little in the morning and at night and follow a diabetic diet while co-operating with the judicial process," he added.

The former president questioned the validity of the charges against him, calling them "childish."

Asked why he has not been attending his insurrection trial, he said it has been difficult to "survive" in his 6-square-metre cell.

On his health, which he has said prevents him from appearing in court, he said, "It's not so critical that I can't breathe."

-- BERNAMA-YONHAP