Ex-defense chief testifies at Yoon's trial

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol directly questioned former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun on Thursday in the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial, with Kim refuting allegations related to Yoon's Dec 3 martial law declaration.

Attired in a navy suit and red tie, the same outfit he wore when he first attended the impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court two days ago, Yoon came in person for the second time — which also included the cross-examination of the first witness, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Questioned for two and a half hours, Kim said he was the one who wrote a note to then finance minister Choi Sang-mok — now acting president — to ask him to draft a budget for an emergency legislative body.

As a key piece of evidence related to the insurrection charges, Yoon is accused of handing the note to Choi when martial law was declared. The imposition of martial law, which plunged the country into political chaos, lasted just six hours before lawmakers voted it down.

Regarding the deployment of troops to the National Assembly building, Kim said Yoon only ordered "a small number" of soldiers, against his advice to mobilize up to 60,000.

He also said Yoon's purpose in mobilizing the troops was not to stop lawmakers from voting down the decree but to "watch closely for people approaching to disrupt the maintenance of order and allow selective entry", Kim was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

Kim was also questioned by the legal representatives from the National Assembly, who are serving as the prosecutors in the trial.

Kim originally refused to be questioned by the National Assembly lawyers but later reversed his stance after being warned by the court that refusing to testify could affect the judgment of his credibility.

He also said he drafted the martial law proclamation, which included a ban on all political activities, based on past martial law documents, and that Yoon did not read it carefully.

Kim was chosen by Yoon's lawyers as a witness for the trial. He was arrested on Dec 8 over his alleged role in the martial law decree and attempted suicide on Dec 10.

During the hearing, Yoon said the martial law declaration was not a failure because he had always planned to end it quickly.

"It ended a little earlier than expected," Yoon said, adding that he immediately ordered the withdrawal of troops after the National Assembly voted against it.

He said the mobilization of troops was legal.

The Constitutional Court received the case on Dec 14 after the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against Yoon. The court has up to 180 days to decide whether to remove Yoon from office or to reinstate him.

'Changing political wind'

Kim "made it clear that he is basically taking the side of Yoon", said Joung W Hwang, a United States-licensed lawyer in Seoul. "But I think overall it will have a very low impact on how the court will review the issue."

Yoon's lawyers "are not making that many credible arguments in court", Hwang told China Daily. "It almost seems like they are directly addressing Yoon's supporters "and are "more interested in changing the political wind in South Korea".

Hwang said he expects Yoon's legal team to keep delaying things as much as possible in the hope that the political fortune will change. This includes how he will deal with the investigation to be carried out by government prosecutors.

Before Thursday's hearing, the Corruption Investigation Office probing the martial law declaration said it had transferred Yoon's case to prosecutors for indictment over charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power.

The CIO does not have indictment powers against a president.

The prosecution said it would immediately start an investigation. It was expected to indict Yoon around Feb 5.

kelly@chinadailyapac.com