The court has already held two hearings for the trial over Yoon's botched martial law debacle, both of which the president declined to attend, citing security concerns. His decision to appear in person came after a warrant for his detention was issued on Sunday.
Yoon, who had been holed up his official residence in Hananm-dong, Seoul, was arrested on Jan. 8 in a large-scale operation involving approximately 2,000 police officers and investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) before being detained in a remand prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.
During Tuesday's hearing which started at 2:00 p.m., Yoon is being questioned from the justices regarding his short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3.
The hearing is proceeding without witnesses, allowing the justices to focus solely on the evidence submitted by the National Assembly and Yoon's legal team. The court has previously admitted a range of evidence related to the Dec. 3 martial law declaration including news coverage and CCTV footage.
In an abrupt televised address on that fateful night, which soon led to his miserable ending with impeachment at the National Assembly about a week later, Yoon justified the decision as necessary to counter "pro-North Korean forces and anti-government activities" he claimed were threatening South Korea's constitutional order.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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