[Yoon Seok-yeol, Former President, Stands Trial Over December 3 Martial Law Incident]
According to the court on the 8th, the Seoul Central District Court’s 25th Criminal Division (Chief Judge Ji Gui-yeon) will hold the sixth trial of former President Yoon Seok-yeol on charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of authority obstructing the exercise of rights. This trial is scheduled for June 9 at 10:15 a.m.
Former President Yoon has appeared at previous trials via the court’s ground-level entrance since the third trial, and he is expected to walk past the court’s photo line again this time.
The sixth trial, scheduled for June 9, will include testimony from Lee Sang-hyun, a former Brigadier General of the 1st Airborne Brigade of the Army Special Warfare Command. During the imposition of martial law, Brigadier General Lee commanded the troops on-site. In his testimony at the trial on May 26, he recounted receiving instructions from Kwak Jong-geun, the Army’s Special Warfare Commander at the time, stating that “the President said to break down doors if necessary and drag out the lawmakers.”
During the witness examination, recordings of Brigadier General Lee’s phone conversations with military personnel during the martial law period were played. These recordings included discussions such as “we need to head to the National Assembly building and climb over the wall” and “get both the 1st and 2nd battalions to drag out the lawmakers.”
In preparation for any unforeseen incidents related to former President Yoon’s trial, the court plans to close some entrances and conduct thorough security screenings for people entering. General vehicle access will be entirely prohibited, except for essential service vehicles.
Meanwhile, on the 12th, the court will continue with the trial of Kim Yong-hyun, former Minister of National Defense; No Sang-won, former Director of National Military Information; and Kim Yong-gun, former Colonel of the 3rd Army Command’s Military Police, who face charges of participating in important insurrection tasks. Initially held in private due to national security concerns, these trials have been open to the public since the end of last month.