South Korea’s suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday made his first appearance at his impeachment trial, where he denied ordering the arrest of lawmakers during his attempt to impose martial law.
Recall the parliament voted to impeach Yoon in December over the Martial Law Order and has been detained last week by the police after several aborted attempt to arrest him.
Yoon is also facing a separate criminal investigation into whether he led an insurrection.
With the Police forming human walls and held up anti-riot barricades to stop hundreds of his supporters who had gathered nearby from getting too close, there was a tight security on Tuesday as the suspended president was transported by van from the detention centre, where he is being held, to the Constitutional Court.
He was asked by the court if he had ordered military commanders to “drag out” lawmakers from parliament on the night he declared martial law, in order to prevent them from overturning his order.
His short response had been: “No.”
Military commanders had earlier alleged that Yoon had given such an order on 3 December, after lawmakers climbed fences and broke barricades to enter the parliament building and vote down Yoon’s martial law declaration.
“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,” he told the judges.
During the Tuesday hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, Yoon and his lawyers argued that the martial law order was “a formality that was not meant to be executed”.
Yoon had cited threats from “anti-state forces” and North Korea when he declared martial law, but it soon became clear that his move had been spurred not by external threats but by his own domestic political troubles. BBC reported
The lawyers prosecuting the case, who were selected by the parliament, accused Yoon and his lawyers for making “largely contradictory, irrational, and unclear” comments.
“If they continue to evade responsibility as they did today, it will only work against them in the impeachment trial and cause even greater disappointment among the public,” the prosecutors told reporters after the hearing.

Outside the courtroom, Yoon’s supporters – who have become more agitated and aggressive lately – demanded that the suspended president be released and restored to office immediately.
Former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who reportedly suggested martial law to Yoon, will testify during the next hearing on Thursday.
Yoon will be removed from office if at least six of the eight-member Constitutional Court bench votes to uphold the impeachment. A presidential election must then be called within 60 days.
South Korea has been in political chaos since the failed martial law attempt. Thousands of protesters and supporters of Yoon have taken to the streets multiple times despite the winter cold.