Yoon raises objection at 7th hearing

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on Tuesday opposed the use of the prosecution's reports, which include interrogations of key suspects involved in the martial law case, as evidence in his impeachment trial.

During the 7th hearing of the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, Yoon said the investigations were not conducted consistently by a single entity, such as the prosecution, military prosecution, or the police, but rather involved multiple agencies in a disorganized manner, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"Even records from (the) National Assembly's hearings were mixed in as well," said Yoon, adding that it is inappropriate to adopt these records as evidence in a desultory manner and use them to establish facts.

Though Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, and others involved in the martial law declaration were directly questioned at the previous hearings, Yoon said there is a significant gap between what was written in the records and what was testified at the court.

"If a single agency had conducted a systematic investigation, it might have been different," said Yoon. "But since these records are inconsistent even among themselves, I request that you take a close look at this issue."

In response, Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief justice of the Constitutional Court, said the issue will be discussed during deliberations with other justices.

The 7th hearing involved testimony from former interior minister Lee Sang-min, National Security Office chief Shin Won-sik, Baek Jong-wook, former third deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, and Kim Yong-bin, secretary-general of the National Election Commission, or NEC.

Key issues in the hearing include allegations that Yoon ordered officials to cut off power and water supplies to media outlets, as well as the decision-making process of the Cabinet meeting, and allegations of election fraud and the deployment of troops to the NEC.

Lee, who was present at a Cabinet meeting Yoon convened immediately before declaring martial law on Dec 3, said he did not order cutting off power or water supplies to media outlets, nor had he ever received orders to do so.

Yet, Lee said he did see a few notes from far away at the president's office, which headlined the words "National Fire Agency chief" and listed the names of several media outlets and a polling agency.

One of the notes mentioned the fire agency cutting off power and water, he said.

'Emergency measures'

Shin, the national security adviser, said Yoon mentioned "emergency measures" during a dinner at a presidential safe house in Seoul around late March to early April last year.

"I didn't think it extended to martial law, but I did express my opinion that such measures would be inappropriate in any case," Shin said, noting he understood it was referring to a situation where the military might play a role in real politics.

In a statement on Tuesday, Seo Ji-young, floor spokesman of the ruling People Power Party, also said interrogation records prepared during the prosecution's investigation cannot be regarded as court-verified facts.

Yoon Jong-kun, floor spokesman of the main opposition Democratic Party, said Yoon caused a civil crisis out of his personal resentment and must be removed from office as soon as possible to restore the constitutional order of South Korea.

According to the current schedule, the Constitutional Court will hold the last hearing on Thursday. While further hearings may be scheduled, some expect that the court will speed up the trial process to issue a decision in March on whether to uphold or dismiss the impeachment.

Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec 14 over his brief martial law declaration. If the court upholds the impeachment and removes him from office, a fresh presidential election will be held within 60 days of removal.

A separate criminal trial of Yoon, who was indicted on charges of insurrection, is expected to begin on Feb 20.

kelly@chinadailyapac.com