Following Yoon, Moon heads to court as South Korea's former presidents' trials come into focus

In South Korea, the trials of former president Yoon Seok-yeol and former president Moon Jae-in are set to begin in succession this week, creating an unprecedented situation in which two former presidents will appear in court one after the other.
Yoon is facing charges of treason in relation to the "December 3 emergency martial law" and Moon is facing charges of bribery at the Seoul Central District Court.
On the 16th, the 25th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court held the seventh hearing of the case against Yoon on charges of masterminding a rebellion and misusing power and obstructing the exercise of rights.
The trial was the first to be held since President Lee Jae-myung appointed three special prosecutors for the civil war, Kim Gun-hee, and the fallen marines.
Attention was focused on what Yoon's views on the special prosecutor would be, but Yoon did not respond to questions from reporters about the appointment of Cho Eun-seok as special prosecutor for civil unrest, and instead remained silent.
The special counsel has taken over the ongoing treason case from the prosecution and has the authority to maintain and direct the prosecution, and can also bring additional charges against Yoon.
If other charges against Yoon that have not yet been indicted come to light, the possibility of him being rearrested cannot be ruled out. Yoon was arrested in January this year on charges of masterminding a rebellion and misusing power and obstructing the exercise of rights.
He was arrested, but released on bail in March this year by a court decision and is currently on trial without indictment.
He has a history of serving as the Seoul High Prosecutor's Office, the highest-ranking prosecutor in the country. They also worked together at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, although they were in different departments.
The lawyer and I were classmates at the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and we worked in the same place at the same time as a prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office, a chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, and a staff officer at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the prosecutor-in-chief level.
Meanwhile, the bribery case related to the special hiring of President Moon's son-in-law will begin on the 17th.
At 2 p.m., the first pretrial hearing for Moon, who was indicted on bribery charges under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and Lee Sang-jik, a former Democratic Party lawmaker who was also indicted on bribery charges, will be held.
The pretrial hearing is a procedure for adjusting the way the trial will proceed before the official trial begins, and it is during this hearing that Moon will give his opinion on the transfer of the case.
On the 11th, Moon's side requested that the case be transferred to the Ulsan District Court, which has jurisdiction over Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, where Moon lives. On the 26th of last month, Rep. Lee's side also requested that the case be transferred to the Jeonju District Court.
On April 24, the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office indicted Moon and Lee at the Seoul Central District Court on charges of violation of the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery), bribery and breach of trust, respectively.
Her former son-in-law, Xu, was employed by Thai Eastar Jet, an overseas subsidiary of Eastar Jet, between August 2018 and March 2020, and received approximately 210 million won in salary and housing expenses.
Regarding the case in which the suspect received a bribe (approximately 22.36 million yen), the court believes that this money constituted a bribe given to Moon. Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Law states that "territorial jurisdiction extends to the location of the crime, the address or residence of the accused, and
The Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office applied the location of the crime as the criterion and indicted Moon at the Seoul Central District Court, which has jurisdiction over Jongno-gu, Seoul.
An official from the Seoul Central District Court said, "Moon Former President's side requested a change in the trial date at the same time as the case was transferred, so even if it was the day before the trial, we were unable to apply for a postponement.
"We cannot rule out the possibility that Moon may be allowed to appear in the pretrial hearings," he said. Moon is not expected to attend the hearings, but the court is also deciding whether to allow filming of Moon in future trials.
It will be a matter of judgment.