“ABUSED HIS AUTHORITY”
Yoon, currently held in a detention centre, appeared in court on Thursday for another hearing at the Constitutional Court, which will decide whether to uphold his impeachment and strip him formally of the presidency.
He argued that he didn’t believe the short-lived martial law was a “failed martial law”, but rather one that “ended a bit sooner” than he expected.
Former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun – who resigned after the martial law bid – also appeared in court.
He told judges Yoon had declared martial law only very reluctantly, according to court pool reporters.
Yoon himself questioned the ex-defence minister, asking him about the draft of the martial law declaration.
“As far as I recall, on the night of Dec 1 or 2, you brought the proclamation to the residence,” Yoon said, adding that in reviewing the draft declaration, he saw many legal flaws.
Yoon then asked Kim if he remembered the situation “where we laughed as I said, let’s just leave it as it is since it (the martial law) is not feasible”.
Kim answered that he remembered that day and felt the president “wasn’t as meticulous as usual”.
Lawmaker Choi Ki-sang, who was present at the court, said he felt Yoon’s direct questioning could “influence the witnesses’ testimonies or create a sense of psychological pressure for them”.
“I think the court should take steps to manage or regulate direct confrontations during the questioning of the witnesses,” Choi said.
Yoon’s lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, told reporters after the hearing that the president will “attend in person” all four hearings remaining unless there are “special circumstances”.
If the court rules against Yoon, he will lose the presidency and elections will be called within 60 days.
During the night of Dec 3, Yoon purportedly ordered troops to storm the National Assembly and prevent lawmakers from voting down his declaration of martial law.
The CIO said its probe found that Yoon “abused his authority by compelling police officers from the National Assembly Guard Unit and martial law forces to perform duties beyond their obligations”.
He also “obstructed the exercise of lawmakers’ rights to demand the lifting of martial law”, it added.
At a hearing earlier this week, Yoon denied instructing top military commanders to “drag out” lawmakers from parliament to prevent them from voting down his decree.
