South Korea: Yoon to attend impeachment trial for second time on Thursday

Seoul, Jan 22 South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will appear before the Constitutional Court for his impeachment trial hearing this week for the second time, an official at Yoon's legal team said on Wednesday.

Yoon is scheduled to attend the hearing at the Constitutional Court on Thursday, the official told Yonhap News Agency. At the Tuesday hearing, Yoon denied ordering martial law troops to pull out lawmakers from the National Assembly during his short-lived martial law bid.

The impeached president's legal team has said that Yoon would be present at all remaining hearings if possible.

Thursday's hearing will also feature former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was arrested last month over his alleged role in the imposition of martial law. Yoon's lawyers have chosen him for witness questioning in the trial.

Kim is set to be questioned by Yoon's lawyers first and then by the legal representatives from the National Assembly who act as the prosecutors in the trial.

Yoon himself may possibly question Kim if approved by acting court President Moon Hyung-bae.

Yoon is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Centre after a Seoul court granted investigators a warrant for his formal arrest on Sunday as part of a separate probe into his botched attempt to declare martial law on December 3, Yonhap news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, South Korean Acting President Choi Sang-mok announced that police officers will be stationed at courts, including the Constitutional Court, on a 24-hour basis to ensure security amid heightened tensions following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The announcement comes after supporters of the impeached president stormed the Seoul Western District Court early on Sunday, smashing windows and entering the premises in protest against the court's decision to formally arrest Yoon over his brief declaration of martial law on December 3.

An opposition-led parliamentary committee issued orders for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and six others involved in his martial law declaration to appear at the National Assembly as witnesses.

The special committee investigating Yoon’s insurrection charges issued the orders after Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, and five other military officials failed to appear despite being scheduled as witnesses for the committee's first hearing. The orders required their appearance by 2 p.m.

Source: IANS