South Korea: Court selects ex-defence chief, military commanders as witnesses in Yoon's impeachment trial

Seoul, Jan 16 South Korean Constitutional Court on Thursday selected former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and a group of top military commanders as witnesses in its impeachment trial against President Yoon Suk Yeol during the second formal hearing of the case.

Acting court President Moon Hyung-bae announced the decision during the court hearing held as scheduled, rejecting Yoon's request for a postponement. Yoon's lawyers filed the request the previous day, citing his detention and interrogation by investigators over his short-lived imposition of martial law.

During Thursday's hearing, the court selected former Defence Minister Kim; Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service; and Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the National Police Agency as witnesses in the impeachment trial.

Other selected witnesses also included Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, chief of the Army Special Warfare Command; Lt. Gen. Lee Jin-woo, commander of the Capital Defence Command; and Lt. Gen. Yeo In-hyung, head of the Defence Counterintelligence Command.

The Constitutional Court also scheduled three additional hearings for February 6, 11 and 13, in addition to the three planned in between.

The court decided to admit CCTV footage showing martial law troops either entering or monitoring the National Assembly, the National Election Committee (NEC) and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik's residence on the night of the martial law declaration as evidence in the impeachment trial.

The court also granted a request from Yoon's defense team for certain internal information from the NEC, related to Yoon's claims that election rigging was one of the reasons he declared martial law.

Yoon, currently under detention, skipped the second hearing and also missed the first hearing on Tuesday, leading it to end after four minutes, Yonhap news agency reported.

By law, the court can proceed with deliberations with or without his attendance starting from the second hearing.

Meanwhile, South Korea had been thrust into a period of political uncertainty following Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration on December 3, 2024, and his subsequent impeachment on December 14, 2024.