Lawyers for ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (pictured) will “challenge in court” charges of rebellion against him over his failed attempt to impose martial law earlier this month.
AFP
Lawyers for ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will “challenge in court” charges of rebellion against him for his failed attempt to impose martial law earlier this month, Yonhap reported Tuesday.
Suspended on Saturday by the deputies as part of an impeachment procedure, Mr. Yoon is legally under two investigations for “rebellion” for having, on the night of December 3 to 4, proclaimed to everyone’s surprise martial law and sent the army to Parliament to muzzle him. He backed down barely six hours later under pressure from the National Assembly and demonstrators.
The 63-year-old former star prosecutor risks – just like allies involved in his coup – life imprisonment and even theoretically the death penalty if he is found guilty of “rebellion”. He is prohibited from leaving the territory.
Mr. Yoon’s attempt “does not meet the conditions required to constitute a rebellion,” one of his lawyers said on Tuesday, according to the Yonhap agency, adding: “We will contest the allegations in court.”
“Although we do not consider the accusations of rebellion to be legally valid, we will comply with the investigations,” Seok Dong-hyeon nevertheless clarified.
Prosecutors earlier in the day ordered Mr. Yoon to appear by Saturday for questioning, or risk being targeted with a possible arrest warrant if he did not comply, Yonhap reported, citing the prosecutors who are leading one of the two investigations.
The suspended president has been postponing their summons since Sunday.
A team of investigators from the police, the anti-corruption agency and the Ministry of Defense, which is leading the second wave of investigations, also tried on Tuesday to search the premises of the presidential guard to obtain telephone recordings, still in after Yonhap.
She had requested the day before that Yoon Suk Yeol answer her questions on Wednesday, but this summons was rejected by the office of the deposed leader, an official explained to journalists.
The identity of the person who objected to this refusal is “unknown”, he added.
Continue the fight
On the political level, the Constitutional Court launched on Monday the examination of the procedure for the impeachment of Mr. Yoon. It must judge the validity of the motion voted on Saturday by the deputies within approximately six months.
If the Court confirms it, Yoon Suk Yeol will be deposed and a presidential election must be held within two months. The winner would then be invested the day after the result, without the usual transition period.
During this period of up to eight months, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will act as interim minister.
The court has set a preliminary hearing for December 27, which Mr. Yoon will not be required to attend, Lee Jean, a spokeswoman, told reporters on Monday.
“This file will be considered a high priority,” she assured.
The outcome is in little doubt according to most experts, as the violations of the Constitution and the law accused of Yoon Suk Yeol are blatant.
Large anti-Yoon demonstrations have multiplied since his takeover, as have smaller rallies in his support, and protesters from both camps have affirmed that they will continue to pound the streets until the Court’s ruling.
On Monday evening, hundreds of South Koreans held a vigil in central Seoul, calling for the formal impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol.
“I came back here, hoping that we will never have another president like him,” Kim Chan-suk, 67, told AFP.
“I go out every day to continue the fight until the Constitutional Court delivers its judgment,” added Han Myung-hak, 52.
(afp)
