South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has denied ordering troops to remove lawmakers from the parliament building, a move that could have prevented them from lifting martial law last month. In his first appearance at the constitutional court, Yoon replied “no” when asked by a judge if he had given the military the order.
The scene was chaotic as MPs broke through walls and confronted armed troops before voting to lift martial law just six hours after it was imposed. The move was seen as a worrying reminder of South Korea’s recent history with military dictatorships.
Yoon’s declaration triggered weeks of political uncertainty in the country, which is Asia’s fourth-biggest economy. His fate now rests on whether the constitutional court’s justices vote to uphold his impeachment or overturn it and return him to office.
The former president had faced allegations that he had called for the removal of MPs from the parliament building, contradicting claims made by the then-chief of the army special warfare command, Lt Gen Kwak Jong-keun. Yoon has also been the target of a separate criminal investigation over allegations that his martial law declaration was an insurrection.
Yoon, who became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested last week, is being held in a tiny cell at the Seoul detention centre. Hundreds of his supporters broke into the building and scuffled with police in scenes reminiscent of the 2021 US Capitol assault.
In his appearance at the court, Yoon claimed that he had always believed in liberal democracy, saying “since coming of age, I have lived with a firm belief in liberal democracy until this very day”. He asked the justices to consider him favourably.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/21/south-korea-yoon-suk-yeol-denies-ordering-troops-drag-out-lawmakers