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EPAOusted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol made his first appearance at an impeachment trial where he denied ordering the arrest of lawmakers during his attempt to impose martial law.
Parliament voted to impeach Yun last month and last week the constitutional court started the trial decide whether to remove him from office permanently.
He also faces a separate criminal investigation into whether he led the rebellion. He has been in custody since last week.
Security was tight on Tuesday as Yoon was taken in a van from the detention center where he is being held to the constitutional court.
Police formed living walls and manned riot barricades to keep hundreds of his supporters who had gathered nearby from approaching. Violence broke out last weekend: Dozens of Yun’s supporters clashed with law enforcement and broke into another courthouse.
On Tuesday, Yun was asked whether he ordered military commanders to “pull” lawmakers out of parliament the night he declared martial law to prevent them from reversing his order.
He replied, “No.”
Military commanders previously claimed that Yun gave the order on Dec. 3 after lawmakers scaled fences and broke barricades to enter the parliament building and reject Yun’s martial law declaration.
“I am a man who has lived with a firm belief in liberal democracy,” Yun said in his opening remarks on Tuesday.
“Since the Constitutional Court exists to protect the constitution, I ask you to carefully study all aspects of this case,” he told the judges.
During the hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, Yoon and his lawyers argued that the martial law order was “a formality that should not have been followed.”
Yoon cited threats from “anti-state forces” and North Korea when he declared martial law, but it soon became clear that his move was prompted not by external threats but by his own domestic political problems.
Lawyers handling the case, selected by parliament, accused Yoon and his lawyers of making “largely contradictory, irrational and incomprehensible” comments.
“If they continue to evade responsibility, as they did today, it will only work against them in the impeachment process and cause even more public frustration,” prosecutors told reporters after the hearing.
Outside the courtroom, his supporters became more agitated and aggressive as they demanded Yun’s immediate release and reinstatement.
They were forced to sit at some distance from the court due to increased security measures. Waving their signature combination of Korean and American flags, some wore Mago-style baseball caps emblazoned with the slogan “Make Korea Free Again,” an echo of the campaign slogan used by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Some of their chants included calls for the execution of the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, Lee Jae-myung, and the criminal investigator Yoon.
Several supporters told the BBC they saw Yun’s martial law announcement as an attempt to protect the country’s democracy.
They accused the opposition party of being pro-China and pro-North Korea, as well as wanting to turn South Korea into a communist country.
“This is a conflict between people who strive for communism and people who strive for democracy,” said Wongeun Son, a 49-year-old businessman who joined the protest on his way back from a lunch meeting.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyungwho reportedly suggested martial law be imposed on Yun, will testify at the next hearing on Thursday.
Yoon will be removed from office if at least six of the eight members of the constitutional court vote in favor of impeachment. Presidential elections must then be called within 60 days.
South Korea has been in political chaos since December 3rd. Thousands of Yun protesters and supporters took to the streets several times despite the winter cold.
The crisis has hit the country’s economy, causing it to weaken, and global rating agencies are warning of weakening consumer and business sentiment.
Additional reporting by Hosu Lee in Seoul
