Eight Defense Attorneys Including Former Prosecutors Kim Hongil and Yoon Gapgeun
President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is accused of being the ringleader of the rebellion following the proclamation of the '12·3 Emergency Martial Law,' arrived at the Seoul Western District Court to attend the pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review).
Convoy of President Yoon Seok-yeol's vehicle entering the Western District Court. Photo by Yonhap News
At around 1:54 p.m. on the 18th, President Yoon arrived at the Seoul Western District Court to attend the warrant review hearing. Without making any separate statements, President Yoon went straight into the court’s underground parking lot.
Chief Judge Cha Eun-kyung of the Seoul Western District Court held the warrant review hearing from 2 p.m. on the same day for President Yoon, who is charged with being the ringleader of the rebellion and obstruction of the exercise of official duties through abuse of power. Six prosecutors, including Chief Prosecutor Cha Jeong-hyun, who executed the arrest warrant for President Yoon, attended on behalf of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).
On President Yoon’s side, eight lawyers attended, including Kim Hong-il, Yoon Gap-geun, Song Hae-eun, as well as Seok Dong-hyun, Bae Jin-han, Cha Ki-hwan, Kim Gye-ri, and Lee Dong-chan.
The conditions for issuing an arrest warrant are that the charges are substantiated and there is a risk of evidence destruction or flight. Both sides are expected to engage in intense legal battles over whether President Yoon’s proclamation of emergency martial law on the 3rd of last month and subsequent measures can be regarded as a “riot aimed at disturbing the constitutional order.”
The CIO’s position is that President Yoon committed rebellion by deploying armed martial law troops to block the National Assembly, obstructing the resolution to lift martial law, operating arrest squads targeting key figures, occupying the National Election Commission, and attempting to remove servers. The CIO defines President Yoon as a “typical fanatic” and argues there is a risk of reoffense with a second martial law, as well as concerns about evidence destruction and flight, citing his replacement of his mobile phone and withdrawal from the messenger app Telegram around the time of the emergency martial law.
President Yoon’s side argues that the message deletions were routine and performed by ordinary people, and that considering his status as the sitting president, there is no risk of flight.
The decision on whether to issue the arrest warrant is expected to be announced late at night on the same day or in the early hours of the 19th. If the warrant is issued, President Yoon will become the first sitting president in constitutional history to be detained. Conversely, if the warrant is dismissed, he will be released from Seoul Detention Center and return to the presidential residence.
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