President Yoon Suk-yeol denies charges of rebellion after declaring martial law

According to Yonhap news agency, Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer in President Yoon's defense team, said the leader has denied the charge of rebellion for declaring martial law on December 3. The president will declare his stance in court if a public hearing is held in his impeachment trial.

President Yoon Suk-yeol addresses the nation from the presidential palace in Seoul on December 14. (Photo: Yonhap)

“ President Yoon will declare his stance in court confidently and according to his own beliefs. The president does not consider the sedition charges to be legally valid, but in fact, since the investigative agencies are acting this way, there will be a response to the investigation ,” he added.

Mr. Yoon is facing parallel investigations by both the prosecution and a joint investigation team — including police, the Corruption Investigation Office for Senior Officials (CIO) and the Defense Ministry 's investigative unit.

Lawyer Seok said the legal defense team for President Yoon plans to divide its duties into three aspects - handling investigations, impeachment trials and other trials.

“ Mr. Yoon’s decision to impose martial law does not meet the requirements to constitute the crime of rebellion ,” Mr. Seok asserted. He argued that President Yoon’s imposition of martial law was not aimed at controlling the government and did not have elements of rebellion.

Two separate legal defense teams will also be set up to handle investigations and impeachment trials, according to Mr. Seok.

The Constitutional Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to remove or reinstate Mr. Yoon, after the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion on December 14 related to his failed decision to declare martial law. Mr. Yoon's presidential powers have been suspended and the Constitutional Court will decide his political fate.

The CIO sent a summons to President Yoon on December 18 for questioning on charges of inciting rebellion and abuse of power through martial law. The investigation team also sent the summons by registered mail on December 17, the same day investigators tried unsuccessfully to deliver the summons to both the office and the presidential residence, as Yoon's security forces refused to cooperate.

“ When there is a summons, we assume that the person is aware, regardless of whether they received the summons or not ,” an officer in the special investigation team emphasized.

On the other hand, on December 17, the Constitutional Court of South Korea ordered President Yoon to appear in court for questioning for the second time on charges of rebellion and abuse of power related to his failed attempt to impose martial law.

Lawyer Seok said Mr. Yoon has no plans to appear before the CIO on December 18. He also declined to comment on whether the President will appear before the prosecution.

The comments by President Yoon's defense team came hours after Yonhap news agency reported that investigators had informed Yoon that he could be arrested if he did not appear for questioning by December 21.

(Source: Tin Tuc Newspaper)

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