South Korea Opens Criminal Insurrection Trial Against Ousted President Yoon

South Korea’s ousted president, Yoon Suk Yeol, told a Seoul court on Monday that his brief declaration of martial law last year was “not a coup d’état,” as he stood trial for allegedly leading an insurrection.Yoon, who was removed from office by the Constitutional Court earlier this month for violating constitutional powers, faces criminal charges over his six-hour imposition of martial law in late 2024, which sparked nationwide protests and strong parliamentary opposition. The backlash triggered months of political upheaval and ultimately led to his removal from power.

Arriving at the Seoul Central District Court in a motorcade, Yoon wore a dark navy suit and red tie as he entered the courtroom to deny the allegations against him. Prosecutors opened the trial by asserting that Yoon lacked any legal justification to declare martial law, accusing him of attempting to incapacitate key institutions of government.“The defendant .



.. made it impossible for constitutional institutions to exercise their authority based on an unlawful declaration,” prosecutors told the court.

Yoon, who served as South Korea’s chief prosecutor before becoming president, spent about 40 minutes in the morning session rejecting the prosecution’s claims.“Martial law is not a coup d’état,” Yoon insisted, saying the decision was not meant to paralyse the country but to highlight how the majority opposition party was obstructing governance by impeaching over 20 officials, including the chief of the Board of Audit and Inspection.“This was a peaceful ‘message martial law’ to the nation.

.. I knew this martial law would end within half a day, a day,” he said.

Yoon added that although he conveyed this intention to former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, military officials tasked with executing the order appeared to have exceeded it, likely due to training protocols based on different martial law scenarios.Faridah AbdulkadiriThe post South Korea Opens Criminal Insurrection Trial Against Ousted President Yoon appeared first on Arise News..