South Korea: Impeached Ex-President Yoon Denies Insurrection Charges in Criminal Trial

South Korea’s impeached former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, pleaded not guilty to insurrection charges as his criminal trial began in the Seoul Central District Court on Monday, The AP reports.

Yoon, who was formally stripped of office earlier this month following his impeachment and suspension by lawmakers, faces a potential life sentence or even the death penalty if convicted.

At the heart of the case is Yoon’s declaration of martial law in December of last year, a move that triggered his impeachment. Prosecutors argued that Yoon lacked the legal basis to declare martial law and accused him of attempting to paralyze key state institutions, including the National Assembly.

Yoon, a former chief prosecutor before entering politics, spent approximately 40 minutes defending his actions in court.

“Martial law is not a coup d’etat,” he asserted, maintaining that he had no intention of paralyzing the country.

Instead, he argued that martial law was necessary to alert the public to the actions of the majority opposition party, which he claimed was obstructing the government by impeaching more than 20 officials, a threshold he deemed dangerous.

Yoon claimed that while he communicated his intentions to the then-Minister of National Defence, Kim Yong-hyun, military officials implementing the order appeared to have exceeded his instructions due to their training under different guidelines for martial law.

The martial law declaration, citing the need to eradicate “antistate” elements, was ultimately lifted six hours later after parliamentary staff used barricades and fire extinguishers to repel special operations soldiers attempting to enter the National Assembly, where lawmakers subsequently voted to reject martial law.

The court is scheduled to hear witness testimonies from two military officers called by the prosecution. One officer is expected to testify that he was instructed by top commanders “to drag out the lawmakers gathered in the National Assembly to lift the martial law,” an allegation Yoon has denied.

If convicted, Yoon would become only the third South Korean president to be found guilty of insurrection, following two military leaders implicated in a 1979 coup. While the death penalty is a possible sentence, it is considered highly unlikely to be carried out, as South Korea has maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.