└[고급]영자신문읽기 신문 속 다양한 세상 이야기를 이제 영어로 만나보세요!
Yoon unlikely to attend trial's first session amid safety concerns, legal team says
2025-01-14
President Yoon Suk Yeol is unlikely to attend the first oral arguments of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court this week due to concerns over his safety, according to his legal team on Sunday.
Yoon’s defense attorney Yun Gap-geun attributed Yoon’s absence to efforts by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) and police to execute what he characterized as an “illegal and invalid arrest warrant” against the impeached Yoon.
The president’s lawyer said that concerns regarding Yoon’s personal safety and security must be resolved before he can appear before the Constitutional Court.
Yoon, who was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec. 14 over his short-lived attempt to impose martial law earlier that month, is obliged to appear for the first hearing of his impeachment trial, which is set for Tuesday.
The court has scheduled five sessions to hear the oral arguments in Yoon’s case.
The standoff between the president and investigative agencies escalated over the weekend as police hauled in Park Chong-jun, the former chief of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), for more than 14 hours of questioning on Saturday regarding allegations that he ordered PSS agents to block CIO officials from executing a warrant for Yoon’s arrest.
Local media reported that the CIO obtained Park’s mobile phone after he was questioned by police. His phone is likely to be analyzed by investigators seeking to understand the internal workings of the PSS.
Park, who was also questioned by police on Friday, told reporters after his second questioning session late Saturday that he “explained everything thoroughly” to investigative officers and that he is “cooperating with the investigative authorities as much as possible.”
However, the former PSS chief did not respond to questions from reporters as to why he resigned or whether he admitted to blocking the CIO from executing its warrant for Yoon.
Local media have also reported that the police task force that is investigating Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law filed a warrant for PSS deputy chief Kim Seong-hoon on Sunday over allegations that he was involved in the agency’s efforts to prevent President Yoon Suk Yeol’s arrest.
A police official refused to confirm whether a warrant has been filed against Kim.
Kim, a longtime PSS official, refused to appear for questioning for a third time on Saturday, citing his inability to be absent from his duty to protect the president “for even a moment.”
The deputy PSS chief is expected to lead the agency in blocking the CIO’s next attempt to arrest Yoon.
Police efforts to bring the PSS to heel, and thus minimize resistance to Yoon’s arrest, come as several key figures who are accused of supporting his declaration of martial law are soon to go on trial.
The Seoul Central District Court is scheduled on Jan. 16 to hold the first pretrial hearing regarding insurrection and abuse of authority charges against former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is accused of ordering troops on Dec. 1 to take control of several locations, including the National Assembly, the Democratic Party’s (DP) headquarters and three offices of the National Election Commission.
Kim is also accused of ordering then-Defense Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyung to arrest 10 prominent politicians, including National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, then-People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon and DP chief Lee Jae-myung.
Kim’s legal representatives are expected to fight the charges by contesting the legality of his indictment process as well as witness statements regarding his actions.
번호 | 기사목록 | 날짜 | 조회수 |
---|---|---|---|
>> | 2025-01-14 | 1597 | |
59 | 2025-01-13 | 1380 | |
58 | 2025-01-12 | 1485 | |
57 | 2025-01-11 | 1217 | |
56 | 2025-01-10 | 1433 | |
55 | 2025-01-09 | 1660 | |
54 | 2025-01-08 | 1212 | |
53 | 2025-01-07 | 1766 |