Appeal trial of Yoon case begins with public access

A Seoul appellate court has held the first hearing of former Republic of Korea president Yoon Suk-yeol's trial on obstruction of justice charges following his short-lived martial law decree in 2024.

Yoon, 65, appeared in court in person on Wednesday, with his legal team refuting a lower court's previous ruling sentencing him to five years in prison and denying all the charges once again, according to Yonhap News Agency.

"Former president Yoon's long career in public office and contributions to state affairs were not reflected in the sentencing," the legal team said, noting that five years in prison is far beyond the scope.

On Dec 3, 2024, Yoon shocked his nation and the world with a surprising martial law declaration. The National Assembly voted within hours to overturn the decree and he was later impeached and removed from office in April last year by the Constitutional Court.

In January, he was given a five-year jail term by the Seoul Central District Court on charges of blocking investigators' attempt to detain him over his martial law declaration last year.

Yoon is involved in a total of eight trials related to his martial law decree. In February, he was sentenced to lifetime in prison on insurrection charges.

A special counsel team, which also appealed against the January ruling, said the original five years in prison is "excessively lenient and unjust" considering that Yoon has not offered any signs of apology to the public and consistently offered incomprehensible excuses.

The special counsel also insisted that several points need to be reexamined, including the partial acquittal regarding the infringement of Cabinet members' deliberation rights.

Before the hearing, the court announced that the video recording of the entire appeal trial process will be released online after it accepted the special counsel team's request to broadcast the proceedings.

The Seoul High Court's decision to broadcast the appeal via a delayed, de-identified recording appears to be a sophisticated move to protect the sanctity of the courtroom while addressing an unprecedented demand for public accountability, said David Tizzard, a professor of Korean studies at Seoul Women's University and Hanyang University in South Korea.

"There is a lot of pressure on this case, and the authorities are obviously wary of those involved being influenced in any way by reactions across online platforms and media channels," Tizzard told China Daily.

Noting that South Korea is stuck in a cycle of political revenge, he said it would be difficult for the society to move forward until it has successfully settled the issue of the martial law incident.

Cha Sung-an, a former judge and a professor at the University of Seoul Law School, said in a Facebook post on Feb 22 that the court must fully disclose the complete ruling on the insurrection charges, including all names, so that every citizen can read, discuss and debate about it.

kelly@chinadailyapac.com