Lawyer Says Yoon of South Korea Is Ready to Represent Himself in Court

According to his attorney, South Korean President Yoon has stated that he is willing to represent himself in court.

Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached president of South Korea, said Thursday that his attorney, Seok Dong-hyeon, is ready to make his own arguments in court over his brief declaration of martial law.

One of Yoon’s longtime friends, Seok, proposed streamlining the overlapping investigations into Yoon.

On December 3, Yoon, a former prosecutor, shocked the country by announcing martial law in a late-night television speech. Hours later, the decree was swiftly revoked as parliamentarians strongly objected to it.

Yoon has already expressed regret for stunning and surprising the people, and he still does. During a news briefing, Seok said, “But he has a clear and confident position on the issues that are in dispute and must be addressed.” He made it clear that Yoon never thought of rebellion.

A Constitutional Court trial will decide whether Yoon will be removed from office or reinstated after parliament impeached him last Saturday over the proclamation of martial law. The question of whether his edict amounted to insurrection—a rare allegation that deprives South Korean presidents of immunity—is still being investigated.

“What sort of rebellion complies with parliament’s directive to cease and then gives up after two or three hours?” Wearing a gift watch from Yoon’s presidential office, Seok asked.

In response to a question about whether the proclamation was unconstitutional, Seok clarified that Yoon saw the opposition party’s control of parliament, its budget cuts, and its efforts to remove government officials from office as a “emergency state” that supported martial law.

Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the National Assembly, criticized Yoon’s defense, saying it went against popular opinion.

Woo said, “I think it was President Yoon’s misjudgment,” accusing Yoon of ignoring important duties like attending the assembly opening or discussing the budget and of not interacting with lawmakers.

Yoon is currently residing at his home while being suspended from his presidential duties. Seok mentioned Yoon’s continuous attempts to put together legal teams for the criminal investigations and the impeachment trial. It is unclear when he will comply with summonses or cooperate with investigations.

Investigative organizations, however, have run into opposition. According to Yonhap news agency, the security service of the presidential office on Wednesday declined to cooperate with raids. The Constitutional Court also disclosed that Yoon had not yet received the trial documents that were provided to him.

Other officials are now involved in the affair. Noh Sang-won, a former army intelligence chief, was taken into custody late on Wednesday on suspicion of aiding Yoon’s martial law decree. Two days before to the decree, according to the police, Noh met with serving army officers at a fast-food restaurant to discuss plans for military deployment.

Noh’s attorney chose not to respond.

On Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean Acting President Han Duck-soo met amidst domestic political unrest. In light of growing worries about North Korea’s nuclear threat and its military ties to Russia, they decided to deepen their trilateral security cooperation with the US.

South Korea’s financial markets have been affected by the uncertainty, and on Thursday, the won fell to a 15-year low due to the US Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to interest rate decreases.