Yoon Seok-yeol Files Motion to Recuse Judges at First Trial Over 'Pyongyang Drone Allegations'... "Extremely Unfair"

"Classified" Proceedings Held Behind Closed Doors
Yoon's Legal Team Protests: "Court Detained Defendant Without Evidence Review"
Court May Immediately Dismiss Motions Clearly Intended to Delay Proceedings

The trial for former President Yoon Seok-yeol's so-called "Pyongyang drone allegations" officially began on January 12. Both former President Yoon's legal team and former Minister Kim's legal team announced that they had filed a motion to recuse the presiding judges.

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending a trial on charges of obstruction of special official duties held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul on the 26th.

The 36th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jeongyeop) held the first hearing on this day for the case in which former President Yoon, former Minister of National Defense Kim Yonghyun, and former Defense Counterintelligence Commander Yeo Inhyeong are charged with general treason.

The court explained its decision to switch to a closed trial, stating, "It is expected that numerous state secrets will be disclosed during the trial, and making the proceedings public could compromise national security."

On this day, the legal teams of former President Yoon and former Minister Kim announced that they had filed a motion to recuse the 36th Criminal Division, which is handling the case. In a press release, former President Yoon's team stated, "It is extremely unusual, in light of the basic principles of criminal trials and judicial practice, for the court in charge of the substantive hearing to proceed with the trial while the defendant is detained, even though only the indictment has been submitted and no evidence has been examined."

They further argued, "This circumstance strongly suggests that the court has already formed a preconceived opinion about the charges, which constitutes grounds for the court to recuse itself."

Former Minister Kim's legal team also stated, "The court designated a detention warrant hearing and issued a detention warrant without having received the indictment," adding, "It is unreasonable to expect a fair trial from a court that issued a warrant based solely on the indictment."

Normally, when a motion for recusal is filed, another division of the court reviews its validity and issues a decision. However, under the Criminal Procedure Act, if it is clear that the motion is intended solely to delay the trial, the division handling the case may dismiss it directly.

If the motion is not immediately dismissed, another division is assigned to review the recusal request, and the trial proceedings are suspended until a decision is made. However, in urgent cases, exceptions can be made to allow the proceedings to continue.

Meanwhile, during the trial on this day, former Minister of National Defense Kim Yonghyun's legal team protested, stating, "The trial cannot proceed without a special prosecutor's assistant," which led to a 25-minute recess. The special investigation team for insurrection countered, "According to the regulations, the prosecution must be maintained under the direction of a special prosecutor or a special prosecutor's assistant."

Former President Yoon and others are accused of provoking North Korea around October last year to heighten military tensions, and then instructing the Drone Operations Command to infiltrate a drone into Pyongyang as a pretext for declaring martial law. The special investigation team maintains that, since the drone deployed at the time crashed near Pyongyang and leaked military secrets such as operations and capabilities, the charge of general treason applies.