Seoul: Former President Yoon Suk Yeol is scheduled to appear in public for the first time since his arrest in July, as he attends the initial hearing of his second trial concerning martial law-related charges. The hearing is set to commence at the Seoul Central District Court at 10:15 a.m. and will be broadcast online with personal information anonymized.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Yoon is currently facing charges for leading an insurrection in his unsuccessful attempt to impose martial law in December. In addition, he is being tried for allegedly violating the rights of Cabinet members, revising the martial law proclamation, and obstructing his detention by investigators in January. He also faces accusations of ordering the deletion of call records and distributing false statements.
The former president last appeared in public on July 9 for an arrest warrant hearing, after which he was incarcerated for the second time. Since then, Yoon has not attended his insurrection trial nor complied with summonses from special counsel teams investigating his case. His legal team has indicated that his presence at Friday's hearing is mandated by law as a prerequisite for the new trial's initiation.
Following the trial hearing, a session regarding Yoon's request for bail will take place. Yoon is expected to attend this hearing as well; however, it will not be broadcast. In accordance with the law, the court will provide an explanation during the session for its decision to deny broadcasting the bail hearing.