SEOUL — South Korean Court hearing on whether to issue an arrest warrant
for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of
martial law ended on Saturday after five hours.
The hearing at the Seoul Western District Court ran from
2 p.m. until 6:50 p.m., with Yoon in attendance. He then returned to the
detention centre where he has been held since Wednesday to await the court's
decision.
"The president faithfully explained and responded
regarding the facts, evidence and legal issues," his lawyer, Yun Gap-geun,
told reporters outside the court. "We will wait quietly until the court's
decision comes out."
The court is expected to issue or reject the warrant for
his formal arrest late Saturday or early Sunday.
Earlier, Seok Dong-hyeon, one of Yoon's lawyers, said
prosecutors from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials
(CIO) presented their case for his arrest and the lawyers followed with
PowerPoint presentations on their counterarguments.
Yoon, dressed in a suit, also spoke for 40 minutes. In
his final statement, he spoke for another 5 minutes before the hearing ended.
The impeached president has been in custody since his
arrest Wednesday at his residence on charges of masterminding an insurrection
and abuse of power, making him the first sitting South Korean president to be
apprehended.
Yoon was transported to the court from a detention centre
in Uiwang, about 20 kilometers south of Seoul, in a blue van escorted by police
and the Presidential Security Service, Yonhap news agency reported.
The convoy bypassed the designated photo area for the
media and entered the court building directly, while thousands of supporters
gathered nearby, waving South Korean and US flags and chanting Yoon's name in a
display of solidarity.
Yoon chose to attend the court hearing to explain the
legitimacy of the martial law imposition and restore his tarnished reputation,
his lawyer Yun said in a message sent to reporters.
Since his detention, Yoon has refused to appear for
questioning over his martial law bid. The declaration, made on December 3,
shocked the nation and plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in
decades. However, the martial law lasted only a few hours before lawmakers
voted to lift the measure.
His lawyers have said the martial law bid was an act of
governance and cannot be subject to a court judgment as it was implemented to
overcome a national crisis caused by the opposition-led impeachments of Cabinet
members, gridlock in legislation and unilateral budget reduction.
Yoon's presidential powers were suspended after the
opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him December 14.
On Wednesday, Yoon's legal team requested the Seoul
Central District Court to decide on the legality of the detention warrant for
Yoon issued by the Western District Court.
But the central court dismissed the challenge the
following day, keeping him in custody.
Despite the ruling, Yoon's legal team is expected to
maintain its argument that the CIO has no legal authority to investigate
insurrection charges and that the western court does not have proper
jurisdiction over the martial law case.
If court officials issue the warrant, Yoon will become
the first sitting president in South Korea's constitutional history to be
formally arrested.
Yoon's formal arrest will allow investigators to extend
his detention to 20 days, during which they will transfer the case to
prosecutors for an indictment.
If rejected, the embattled president will be released and
return to his residence, helping bolster his claims that the ongoing
investigations into his martial law decree and impeachment are unfounded.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court is deliberating
whether to remove Yoon from office by upholding the parliament's impeachment
decision or reinstate him.
