South Korean President's legal representative again denies insurrection charges

Seoul (The Uttam Hindu): A lawyer representing impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol again denied the insurrection charges against him Thursday, saying anyone who intended to incite an insurrection would not have done what Yoon did and declare martial law before the world.

Seok Dong-hyeon, who is involved in forming Yoon's legal defence team, made the argument as the President is under investigation on insurrection charges over his short-lived martial law decree on December 3 and has been suspended from duty pending a Constitutional Court trial on his impeachment by the National Assembly, Yonhap news agency reported.

"From President Yoon's perspective, he hasn't even thought about insurrection," Seok told reporters at his law firm in Seoul. "What kind of insurrection involves someone saying through a press conference before the people and the entire world, 'I am going to stage an insurrection?' and what kind of insurrection is dropped after two or three hours because the National Assembly ordered it?" Seok was referring to the televised address Yoon gave on the night of December 3 to declare martial law and his lifting of the decree hours later after the National Assembly voted to reject it.

"The President told the deployed military and the police that they should not clash with citizens," the lawyer said. "The President is a jurist, so why would he talk about arrest? If they did arrest, where would they take them? I hope the people and the press consider such common sense." Seok's remarks contradict testimony by multiple senior military officials that Yoon ordered troops to drag out lawmakers from inside the National Assembly building to stop them from voting down the decree and also ordered the arrest of prominent politicians while martial law was in force.

The lawyer said he does not think Yoon declared martial law out of personal grievances caused by struggles in running state affairs and personal humiliation, but based on a judgment that the nation was truly in a state of emergency. Seok has known Yoon for more than 40 years since both were students at Seoul National University School of Law.