Yoon's team denies stalling for time as final hearing on prosecution’s sentencing request begins
Published: 13 Jan. 2026, 17:00
Updated: 13 Jan. 2026, 17:06
![Defendants facing charges of leading an insurrection, including former President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, are seen during a hearing at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 9. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/a39dd045-a8f4-49b1-8599-1b7b1b526837.jpg)
Defendants facing charges of leading an insurrection, including former President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, are seen during a hearing at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 9. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]
A final trial hearing to determine the prosecution’s sentencing request for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces charges of leading an insurrection, began Tuesday at the Seoul Central District Court.
The court's Criminal Division 25, presided over by Chief Judge Ji Gui-yeon, opened the hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in courtroom 417 for Yoon and seven other defendants charged with insurrection.
A prior hearing on Friday was prolonged after former defense minister and co-defendant Kim Yong-hyun's lawyers conducted nearly eight hours of cross-examination, pushing the sentencing request and final statements to Tuesday.
Yoon entered the courtroom at around 9:30 a.m., wearing a navy suit and a white shirt without a tie and carrying a stack of documents. He bowed briefly to the judges and defense attorneys before taking his seat.
During the cross-examination, he stared expressionlessly at the monitor in front of him, occasionally exchanging quiet remarks with attorney Yoon Gap-geun.
A total of nine lawyers appeared for Yoon Suk Yeol, including Yoon Gap-geun. The team for Kim Yong-hyun included three lawyers, while special counsel Park Eok-su and nine other prosecutors from the special counsel team investigating the insurrection allegations were present.
![Defendants facing charges of leading an insurrection, including former President Yoon Suk Yeol, second row, far left, and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, first row center, are seen during a hearing at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 9. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/bc4bf464-78e3-436c-95a6-7541731def2d.jpg)
Defendants facing charges of leading an insurrection, including former President Yoon Suk Yeol, second row, far left, and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, first row center, are seen during a hearing at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 9. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]
Tuesday’s trial was scheduled to begin with the defense’s cross-examination and closing arguments, followed by the prosecution’s sentencing request and the defendants’ final statements. Yoon’s legal team reportedly planned to use up to six to eight hours for the cross-examination and arguments.
The defense began the session by denying allegations of intentionally delaying proceedings.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding,” said attorney Lee Kyung-won from Yoon’s legal team. “Neither the defendant nor the defense team has anything to gain from dragging out the trial.”
“We agreed to most of the 150,000 pages of evidence and digital records,” said Lee. “If we wanted to delay the trial, we would have objected to all of it. In fact, it was the special counsel who slowed proceedings by selecting witnesses unrelated to the defendants.”
![Defendants, judges, lawyers and prosecutors are seen during an insurrection charge hearing related to the Dec. 3, 2024 martial law declaration at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Jan. 9. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/13/0ff1169d-9c65-458e-b16f-b3e50dad9b34.jpg)
Defendants, judges, lawyers and prosecutors are seen during an insurrection charge hearing related to the Dec. 3, 2024 martial law declaration at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul on Jan. 9. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]
Taking the floor next, lawyer Bae Bo-yoon cited French philosopher Montesquieu, the concept of the separation of powers, the U.S. presidential system, and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving U.S. President Donald Trump, to argue that the declaration of martial law is not subject to judicial review.
“The declaration of martial law is a highly political decision made by the president,” Bae said. “As a matter of principle, it is not subject to judicial scrutiny.”
The court declared a recess at 11:50 a.m. and resumed at 1:40 p.m. During the break, Yoon was seen chatting with his lawyers with his hands in his pockets, at one point patting one attorney on the back. Kim Yong-hyun, the former Defense Minister, nodded while listening to Yoon.
As Yoon exited the courtroom, a member of the gallery shouted, “Stay strong, Mr. President. Insurrection is not a crime,” prompting Yoon to briefly glance toward the audience before leaving. About 30 people in the gallery gave him a standing ovation.
The trial is expected to continue past midnight.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JO SU-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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