Yoon Suk-yeol's Side Withdraws Recusal Motion Against Judges in 'Pyongyang Drone Suspicion' Case... "Will Coordinate with Court"

Protested the "extremely unfair" proceedings,
but withdrew the motion on the same day

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol's legal team filed a motion to recuse the presiding judges at the first trial hearing regarding the so-called 'Pyongyang drone suspicion' case, but withdrew the request on the same day.

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

According to the legal community on January 13, the 36th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jungyeop) held the first trial on the previous day for the case involving former President Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yonghyun, and former Defense Security Command Chief Yeo Inhyeong, who are charged with the crime of ordinary treason.

The legal teams for former President Yoon and former Minister Kim announced that they had filed a motion to recuse the 36th Criminal Division overseeing the case. Through a press release, Yoon's legal team stated, "It is extremely unusual, both in terms of the basic principles of criminal trials and trial practice, for the court responsible for the main trial to proceed with the trial while keeping the defendant in custody at a stage where 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 regarding the charges, and therefore, this constitutes a situation in which the judges themselves are required to recuse themselves."

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

However, former President Yoon's legal team withdrew the motion for recusal at around 6 p.m. that day. The defense explained, "This reflects the opinion of the legal team to coordinate the schedule as much as possible in consultation with the court, as well as the wishes of the former president."

Former President Yoon and others are accused of ordering the Drone Operations Command to infiltrate drones into Pyongyang around October of last year, after provoking North Korea and escalating military tensions, in order to use the situation as grounds for declaring 12·3 Martial Law. The special prosecutor's team views the case as ordinary treason, arguing that because a drone deployed at the time crashed near Pyongyang, resulting in the leakage of military secrets such as operations and capabilities, the crime is established.