Kim Gyeri and Song Jin-ho Share Reflections as Former President Yoon's Defense Team
Song Jin-ho: "I Blamed Myself, Wondering If My Poor Defense Led to Impeachment"
Kim Gyeri: "Me, Far-Right? I Don't Even Know What That Means"
Attorney Kim Gyeri, a member of former President Yoon Sukyeol's legal team, expressed her position regarding the impeachment of former President Yoon and the subsequent investigation process. On the 23rd, Kim uploaded a video titled "After Martial Law... First Appearance on YouTube! Stories Never Told Before" on her YouTube channel "Kim GyeriTV." Attorney Song Jin-ho, who is handling Yoon's impeachment trial, criminal trial, and special prosecutor investigation, also appeared in the video.
Attorney Kim Gyeri, who is part of former President Yoon Sukyeol's legal team, is speaking on her YouTube channel on the 23rd. YouTube Kim GyeriTV
Regarding his decision to join the legal team, Song said, "When martial law was being blamed and there were accusations of rebellion, I believed that there was a reason for martial law and did not think it constituted rebellion," adding, "I had the fundamental belief that saving the president was the same as saving the Republic of Korea and protecting the military." He continued, "After the impeachment was upheld, I felt depressed for about three days and couldn't think of anything. I was paralyzed by the self-reproach that perhaps the impeachment happened because I did a poor job defending the case."
He explained his reason for staying on the case, saying, "Since a criminal case had to be handled anyway, and unlike the constitutional trial, the facts would be more heavily disputed and there were many issues related to the military, I thought I had to stay."
Regarding the "crime of treason" that emerged as one of the charges against former President Yoon, he said, "To put it simply, treason means conspiring or colluding with the enemy, but officially, North Korea is the only main enemy. In order for treason to be established, there must be collusion or conspiracy with North Korea, but I personally think it is almost impossible for former President Yoon to be guilty of treason."
Attorney Kim criticized the investigation process against former President Yoon. She said, "In a typical criminal case, you can check what charges are being investigated and review the transcript of the suspect's interrogation. However, in the president's case, even after filing a request for disclosure of information, we were denied access to the document confirming the charges under investigation."
She added, "People call me and Attorney Song 'far-right,' but I don't even know what that means. While preparing for this case, I did say I was 'enlightened,' but as I prepared the defense, I realized how much our country had deteriorated, and there were times I cried out of fear. I want to emphasize that the freedoms you enjoy could disappear at any time."
Song also commented, "The current situation is truly a silent war, a war of systems. I have come to realize even more that protecting the president is the same as defending liberal democracy."
On the 16th, Attorney Kim launched her YouTube channel and released a 2-minute 31-second video titled "This is Kim Gyeri. I started YouTube out of frustration." As of one week after its release, the video has surpassed 640,000 views and the channel has more than 180,000 subscribers.
In that video, Attorney Kim said, "Many people only remember that I said I was 'enlightened' or mentioned the 'Enlightenment Decree,' but I actually argued a lot of points at the Constitutional Court. However, the content of my defense was rarely reported in the news. Even when I provided materials to reporters in advance and asked them to cover it, it rarely happened. Most of the news only reported the prosecution's position. That's why I wanted to speak out and share our side of the story."
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