South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol made his first appearance at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, where he pledged to cooperate with the judges who will determine whether he will be removed from office.
The country was plunged into political chaos by Yoon’s December 3 martial law declaration, which lasted just six hours before lawmakers voted it down.
They later impeached him, stripping him of his duties. He also became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested in a criminal probe on insurrection grounds.
Thousands of protesters — both for and against Yoon — flocked to the Constitutional Court, which is holding hearings to decide whether to uphold his impeachment.
“I will respond to any questions or provide further remarks if necessary,” Yoon told the judge.
Yoon was asked during the hearing whether he had instructed top military commanders to “drag out” lawmakers from parliament to prevent them voting down his martial law decree.
“No,” he told the judge.
Reporters saw Yoon — who remains South Korea’s official head of state — driven into the building in a blue justice ministry van from the detention centre where he is being held pending a criminal probe on insurrection grounds.
Court spokesperson Cheon Jae-hyun told reporters that Yoon’s legal team have requested to call “at least 24 individuals” as witnesses, including election-related officials.
Yoon and his legal team have sought to justify his attempt to suspend civilian rule as a necessary measure due to election fraud, after the opposition won parliamentary elections by a landslide last year.
According to pool reporters, he appeared in court wearing a suit — not his standard-issue prison uniform, which he has been required to wear since he was formally arrested Sunday.
Yoon’s legal team said he wanted to “personally appear to explain the circumstances surrounding the declaration of martial law”.
