South Korean President Yoon Soo-Yeol will be the first leader to be tried in a criminal case as a hearing over his bid to impose martial law.
The 64-year-old former prosecutor has been in prison since his arrest on rebellion charges in January, and if convicted, he will be sentenced to life in prison or face death penalty. It may be. The criminal case begins Thursday at Seoul's Central District Court.
Prosecutors accused the suspended president of being the “treason mastermind of the rebellion.” His lawyers argued that the investigation lacked legitimacy from the start, and challenged the legality of his prosecution and that it was within his power as head of state to declare martial law. I say that.
Separately, the South Korean Constitutional Court is deciding whether to formally remove Yoon from the mission, following the parliamentary ammo each in December. His 10th hearing in that case is scheduled for 3pm, just hours after he rose to his position at criminal trial.
Convened to testify at the Constitutional Court, Han Dak So, who was each active president after Yoon took office in December, followed by former Intelligence Director Hong Chang Won.
Jo Ji-ho, head of South Korea's national police agency, has been tried on suspicion of a rebellion related to martial law, and is also known as a witness.
However, it is not yet clear whether the bluff each hearing will be his last before eight judges in the Constitutional Court went behind a closed door to deliberate. The process can take two weeks or more.
Previously each, Presidents Park Geun Hai and Lo Moo Hyun had to wait for 11 and 14 days respectively to learn their fate.
If Yoon takes office, the country must hold a new presidential election within 60 days.
Much of Yun's perm-each trials are concentrated on the question of whether he violated the Constitution by declaring martial law reserved during the era of national emergency and war.
His order lasted only six hours as the opposition-led Congress ignored the troops to vote for it. But it plunged democracy into months of political turmoil with protests, two blunders and a surge in online disinformation.
Yoon's lawyer told reporters last week that his declaration of martial law is “an act of governance and will not be subject to judicial review.”
