December 23, 2024
SEOUL – Embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol has fired back with his own legal case against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung while, as of Monday, still refusing to accept delivery of documents from the Constitutional Court related to his impeachment trial, in response to which the court was expected to release an official statement around the Monday deadline.
Yoon’s lawyer Seok Dong-hyun said Sunday evening that he will file a criminal complaint on Yoon’s behalf against Lee Jae-myung, the chair of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, accusing Lee of falsely accusing his client of insurrection and instigation.
The president is being investigated for charges of insurrection and abuse of power concerning his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, in relation to which he is also accused of ordering the arrest of lawmakers and officials of the National Election Commission.
“It is unclear which Democratic Party supreme council member led (the filing of insurrection charges against Yoon), so I will submit the papers against Lee to the police’s National Office of Investigation tomorrow,” Seok wrote on his Facebook page.
Seok, Yoon’s confidant of some 40 years dating back to their time as university classmates, has repeatedly claimed that his client is innocent of the insurrection charges. He claimed that Yoon had never planned to arrest anyone during his ill-fated martial law that lasted only six hours on the night of Dec. 3-4.
Last Friday, the main opposition party accused the lawyer himself of spreading propaganda in support of insurrection.
In addition to the criminal investigation, Yoon also faces an impeachment trial by the Constitutional Court, after the National Assembly passed the motion for it on Dec. 14 in a 204-85 vote.
The Constitutional Court sent Yoon legal documents in the case on Dec. 16, including a notification of legal proceedings, a summons and preparation orders, but the president has snubbed delivery of the papers to both his residence and office. Yoon was requested to submit written answers to the documents by Monday, though he is considered highly unlikely to comply since he is refusing even to accept the papers.
Such a delay is unprecedented in a presidential impeachment trial. Roh Moo-hyun and Park Geun-hye, the only presidents whose impeachment motions were passed by the National Assembly, both accepted delivery of the Constitutional Court’s documents immediately.
The nation’s highest legal authority on the Constitution told reporters that it could release an official statement concerning the matter on Monday. One option for the court is to declare the documents delivered even without Yoon having accepted them.
An impeachment trial can be conducted without the defendant submitting written answers to the court.