President Yoon Prepares 'Self-Defense'... Difficulties in Assembling Legal Team Also Contribute

Yoon Celebrates Birthday, Strengthens Will to Argue Personally at Residence
Lawyer Bae Jin-han "Will Not Join Defense Team"

On the afternoon of the 14th, when the motion to impeach President Yoon Seok-yeol was passed in the National Assembly, citizens at Seoul Station were watching President Yoon Seok-yeol's national address on TV. Photo by Yonhap News

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is facing impeachment proceedings due to the 'December 12·3 Emergency Martial Law,' is expected to personally conduct his defense in upcoming investigations and trials. Immediately after the impeachment motion was passed, President Yoon stated in a public address, "I will never give up," indicating his intention to actively respond to the investigations and impeachment review, according to sources close to him. If President Yoon personally takes on the 'self-defense,' he will become the first president in constitutional history to stand in the impeachment trial court.

According to the Blue House and legal circles on the 18th, President Yoon recently conveyed his intention to express his views confidently in court through his longtime lawyer, Seok Dong-hyun, who has been by his side for 40 years. Lawyer Seok, who is involved in forming President Yoon's defense team, told reporters the day before, "It is expected that the president himself will clearly hold and assert his position rather than leaving it to the lawyers," adding, "President Yoon will confidently and firmly express his stance in court."

On the 12th, through a national address titled 'A Message to the People,' President Yoon argued, "The emergency measures are not intended to destroy the constitutional order and national sovereignty of the Republic of Korea, but to inform the people of a national crisis to protect and restore the constitutional order and national sovereignty." Inside and outside the Blue House, there is speculation that, given President Yoon’s usual practice of meticulously reviewing speech drafts and internalizing the wording in his own language before delivery, this defense will be an opportunity for him to strongly assert that the charge of rebellion cannot be established.

Former Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, who were previously subjects of impeachment trials, never appeared in person during the 7 and 17 hearings held by the Constitutional Court, respectively, and only presented their positions through their legal representatives. However, President Yoon, who has consistently conveyed his stance through public addresses and statements since the martial law incident, is taking a different approach from former presidents. On the day of his 64th birthday, which he spent at the Hannam-dong residence, President Yoon reportedly reaffirmed his determination to personally defend himself while receiving news of birthday wreaths sent by supporters during a modest celebration arranged by his secretariat staff.

As a former Prosecutor General, President Yoon plans to leverage his expertise in criminal law to mount a legal defense. In particular, since impeachment trials apply criminal procedure laws and the constitution is a field relatively familiar to prosecutors who specialize in criminal law, President Yoon is believed to consider that he has some chance of success. As he mentioned in his national address that "emergency martial law is a legitimate act of governance," it is expected that he will engage in legal arguments through self-defense.

There is also speculation that the current difficulty in assembling a defense team has partly influenced President Yoon’s decision to defend himself. Lawyer Bae Jin-han, a longtime acquaintance of President Yoon and a leading candidate for the defense team, stated in a phone interview with this publication on the same day that he "will not participate in the defense team." It is reported that public opinion regarding President Yoon’s martial law incident has become a significant burden, leading to reluctance to join the defense team. A legal professional who graduated from Seoul National University Law School in the class of 1979, the same as President Yoon, said, "I have heard that a defense team is being formed, but it will not be easy for anyone to step forward."