Former President Yoon denies all charges in first hearing on charges of masterminding rebellion... Defense argues that Constitutional Court ruling is ”misinterpreted factually” (South Korea)

On the 14th, former South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol appeared in court for the first time in his criminal trial on charges of instigating a rebellion, and declared his complete denial of the charges. After the trial, his legal team responded to an interview,
He asserted that "the decisions of the Constitutional Court are not necessarily true or factual." He indicated his recognition that past decisions by the Constitutional Court contained factual errors, and made clear his intention to seek to uncover the truth through criminal trials.
Attorney Yoon Kap-keun, who represents former President Yoon, emphasized at a press conference after the first hearing that "this criminal trial is a process of revealing the truth and facts."
Regarding the Constitutional Court's decision, he said, "We have a single instance system, and it is a position that we have no choice but to respect legally and institutionally, but that does not necessarily represent the absolute truth or fact."
Furthermore, Attorney Yoon pointed out the possibility of a violation of the Evidence Act in the Constitutional Court's deliberations. "Something that cannot be used as evidence in a criminal trial can be used as evidence in the Constitutional Court.
"There is a suspicion that the law was established in a way that violated the Constitution. In the criminal trial, we will thoroughly contest this point and prove that it is not true," he said.
The defense team reiterated that they "deny the entire indictment." They also denied the specific facts of the multiple conspiracy cases listed in the indictment. They also denied that "the purpose of the conspiracy was to violate the Constitution, which is a constituent element of the crime of treason."
"There was no riot," he said. During the trial, former President Yoon made a strong counterargument, speaking actively in his opening statement and during breaks in the trial.
The lawyer said, "There was no close prior consultation. We felt that the prosecution's arguments were significantly different from the facts, so the president himself, who knows the facts best, explained them."
During the first hearing, which lasted about eight hours and 20 minutes, former President Yoon spoke directly for about 93 minutes, strongly denying his involvement in the civil unrest.
He also spoke for 40 minutes about the legitimacy of the emergency martial law, and in particular, he said that the emergency martial law issued on December 3 was intended to send a message to the people.
Although the judge tried to stop him from speaking several times, President Yoon continued to make his own arguments, interrupting the judge and his lawyer.
In response to the indictment, Yoon said, "The burden of proof lies with the prosecution. I do not deny the prosecution's leading investigation, but the contents are far too sloppy.
"We cannot expect a fair trial," he said, expressing strong dissatisfaction. He also objected to the 38 people the prosecution had requested as key witnesses. "There is no need to present military commanders or superintendent-level commanders as witnesses.
"Isn't there no need to do that?" he said, especially with regard to the former Special Forces Commander Kwak Jong-geun, the reliability of the phone call records was questioned in the Constitutional Court hearing, and they were used as evidence.
The second trial of former President Yoon was scheduled for the 21st. As in the first trial, the next trial will also include Cho Seong-hyun, head of the Capital Defense Command's 1st Security Brigade, and Kim Hee-hyun, the head of the Capital Defense Command's 1st Security Brigade.
A witness hearing is scheduled to be held for the commander of the 1st Special Forces Battalion of the Yonggi Special Forces Command.