Key witnesses to drive faster progress in Yoon impeachment trial

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Key witnesses to drive faster progress in Yoon impeachment trial

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President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his fourth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his fourth impeachment trial hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 
Impeachment trial hearings for President Yoon Suk Yeol are expected to speed up after resuming on Tuesday, following the Lunar New Year holiday, with more witnesses set to testify during each session.
 
Yoon, who is facing an impeachment trial over last month's short-lived imposition of martial law, became the first sitting president in Korean history to be indicted.
 

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After the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) referred the case to the state prosecution service on Jan. 23, the prosecutors indicted Yoon on Sunday on charges of masterminding an insurrection and abusing his authority over his botched declaration of martial law.
 
Yoon has been held at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, since the CIO executed a warrant to detain him on Jan. 15.
 
The impeachment trial hearings, which were paused during the long Lunar New Year holiday that ended Thursday, will resume and be held twice a week through Feb. 13. The Constitutional Court has scheduled up to eight hearings, with the fifth hearing set for Tuesday.  
 
Questioning of witnesses both from the National Assembly’s impeachment investigative committee, which is the main plaintiff in the trial, and from Yoon’s legal team will continue during the upcoming sessions.  
 
The Constitutional Court approved all five witnesses requested by the National Assembly’s committee and four of the roughly 30 witnesses proposed by Yoon’s side.
 
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was the first witness to testify during the fourth hearing on Jan. 23, denied allegations that Yoon had ordered the arrest of key politicians and admitted that he had drafted the martial law decree during the trial. 
 
Former National Intelligence Service first deputy director Hong Jang-won speaks during a parliamentary questioning at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Jan. 22. [NEWS1]

Former National Intelligence Service first deputy director Hong Jang-won speaks during a parliamentary questioning at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Jan. 22. [NEWS1]

 
Three other witnesses — former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo, former Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung and former National Intelligence Service (NIS) first deputy director Hong Jang-won — are scheduled to testify during the fifth hearing on Tuesday. Hong previously testified to parliament on Dec. 6 that Yoon had ordered the arrest of key politicians and officials, saying he had received a list of 10 names from Lt. Gen. Yeo.
 
Additionally, Hong alleged that the president had ordered the arrest of figures such as liberal Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and then-People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, claiming that Yoon said he would grant the NIS "investigative authority over charges related to violations of the National Security Act."
 
Protesters call for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol near Gyeongbokgung Station in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 25. [NEWS1]

Protesters call for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol near Gyeongbokgung Station in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Jan. 25. [NEWS1]

 
During the sixth hearing on Feb. 6, Col. Kim Hyun-tae, head of the 707th Special Missions Group — one of the units dispatched to the National Assembly in western Seoul on the night of Dec. 3 when Yoon declared martial law — will testify, along with Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, former chief of the Special Warfare Command and Park Chun-seop, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs.
 
Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min is scheduled to testify during the seventh hearing on Feb. 11. The three witnesses, excluding Lt. Gen. Kwak, were requested by Yoon’s legal team. 
 
Additional hearings may be scheduled if the court approves more witnesses to testify.   
 
Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol call for his release near the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 30. [NEWS1]

Supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol call for his release near the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on Jan. 30. [NEWS1]

 
Observers expect the court to issue a ruling as early as March, as the terms of acting Constitutional Court Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae and Justice Lee Mi-son are set to expire on April 18. The court formed an eight-member bench on Jan. 2 after the appointment of two justices by acting President Choi Sang-mok, fulfilling the seven-member quorum required for deliberations.
 
The Constitutional Court must rule on Yoon’s impeachment by early June, as it is required to make a decision within 180 days of receiving the impeachment motion from the main plaintiff. The court received the impeachment motion on Dec. 14.
 
The criminal trial against Yoon, in which he is accused of masterminding an insurrection, will take place at the Seoul Central District Court and is expected to start in early March after preparations.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]
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