Kim Yonghyun's Recusal Request Against 'Insurrection Trial Panel' Assigned to Criminal Division 28... Trial Suspended Until Decision

Objection to Trial Management: Recusal Request Against Criminal Agreement Division 25
Court Requests Withdrawal During Hearing on the 26th

The Criminal Agreement Division 28 (Presiding Judge Han Daegyun) of the Seoul Central District Court will review the recusal request filed by former Minister of National Defense Kim Yonghyun against the judges presiding over his insurrection trial.

Yonhap News Agency

According to the legal community on the 29th, the Central District Court assigned the recusal request against the Criminal Agreement Division 25 (Presiding Judge Ji Guyoun) submitted by Kim's legal team to the Criminal Agreement Division 28 of the same court.

Previously, during the trial on charges of participation in a major insurrection mission held on the 18th, Kim's legal team raised concerns that the special prosecutor's team had used aliases in the investigation records and subsequently filed the recusal request.

A recusal request is a procedure under the Criminal Procedure Act that allows the prosecution or the defendant to request the exclusion of a judge if there are concerns about an unfair trial. If the request is accepted, the panel of judges is changed. If it is denied, the existing Criminal Agreement Division 25 will continue to hear the case. However, Kim's legal team can appeal the decision if the request is denied. Until the result of the recusal request is determined, Kim's trial will be suspended.

The Criminal Agreement Division 25 held a hearing on the recusal request on the 26th, but did not issue a summary dismissal, which would have been possible if the request was clearly intended only to delay the proceedings. Instead, the court asked Kim's legal team to consider withdrawing the recusal request for the sake of a prompt trial and scheduled the next witness examination for the 17th of next month, on the condition that the recusal request is withdrawn.

Regarding this, Kim's legal team stated, "We will review the matter and make a prompt decision on whether to withdraw the request, as part of our cooperation for an efficient and fair trial process."