Crises arises as South Korea President denies ordering arrest of lawmakers

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During his first appearance at his impeachment trial on Tuesday, Yoon Suk Yeol, the suspended president of South Korea, denied claims that he ordered lawmakers to be arrested during his attempt to impose martial law.

Remember how the constitutional court started hearings last week to determine whether to remove Yoon from office permanently after parliament voted to impeach him last month?

Yoon also faces a separate criminal investigation amid charges that he led an insurrection.

Yoon has been held since last week. His transportation from the prison facility to the constitutional court was heavily guarded, with police erecting human walls and anti-riot barricades to keep hundreds of his supporters out.

Yoon was questioned throughout the session regarding claims that on December 3, the night he imposed martial law, he gave military commanders orders to “drag out” MPs from parliament in order to stop them from rescinding his order.

Yoon denied the claim, stating: “I am a person who has lived with a firm belief in liberal democracy. As the constitutional court exists to safeguard the constitution, I ask that you thoroughly examine all aspects of this case.”

Prosecutors said the move was motivated by domestic political issues rather than external threats, while military commanders claimed Yoon issued the order after lawmakers broke down barricades and climbed fences to enter the parliament building and vote down his martial law declaration.

Hundreds of his supporters waved South Korean and U.S. flags outside the courtroom, with some donning hats with slogans like “Make Korea Free Again.” Yoon’s lawyers maintained the martial law order was merely “a formality that was not meant to be executed.”

Yoon’s proclamation of martial law was defended by many supporters who said it was an effort to preserve South Korea’s democracy.

A 49-year-old businessman at the demonstration, Wongeun Seong, stated, “This is a conflict between people who pursue democracy and people who pursue communism.”

With some demonstrators demanding the execution of opposition party leader Lee Jae Myung and the investigator in charge of Yoon’s criminal prosecution, tensions have increased.

Kim Yong-hyun, the former defense minister who allegedly recommended the imposition of martial law to Yoon, is scheduled to testify on Thursday.

Within sixty days, a presidential election will be held if six of the eight justices on the constitutional court vote to sustain Yoon’s impeachment.

South Korea’s economy has been rocked by the continuous political unrest, which has devalued the won and caused international credit rating agencies to issue warnings about a drop in corporate and consumer confidence.

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