Monday, April 14, 2025 - The criminal trial of South Korea’s ousted leader, Yoon Suk Yeol began on Monday over charges that he led an insurrection when he declared martial law late last year and plunged the country into months of turmoil.
The martial law was lifted six hours later after
parliamentary staffers used barricades and fire extinguishers to ward off
special operations soldiers trying to enter parliament, where lawmakers voted
to reject martial law.
The ousted president, after leaving his house in a
motorcade, denied all charges against him, entered a courtroom at the Seoul
Central District Court on Monday.
At the commencement of proceedings on Monday, prosecutors
said that Yoon lacked the legal grounds to declare martial law, accusing him of
trying to paralyse state institutions such as parliament.
The former president has said that he had no intention of
paralysing the country, adding that martial law was needed to show how the
majority opposition party was conducting legislative dictatorship by repeatedly
blocking his government’s agenda.
The charge of insurrection faced by the impeached leader is
punishable by life imprisonment or even death, although South Korea has not
executed anyone in decades.
Recall that Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court
from office earlier this month for violating constitutional powers with actions
that were labelled a serious challenge to democracy.
The Constitutional Court said Yoon’s martial law declaration
on December 3 shocked South Koreans, and created chaos in all areas of society,
the economy and foreign policy.
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