Seoul, Dec 20 The Constitutional Court is weighing its options as a set of documents initiating the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol remains undelivered to him after five days, a court spokesperson said Friday.
The court has used various means, including the postal service, in-person delivery and an electronic system, to try to get an impeachment trial notice and other documents delivered to Yoon but failed each time due largely to a lack of cooperation from the presidential office.
Two justices handling preparations for the trial reported the current status to a plenary meeting of justices Thursday, according to court spokesperson Lee Jin.
"The full bench shared their views of the situation," she told a press briefing. "The details of their discussions cannot be disclosed for confidentiality reasons," Yonhap news agency reported.
Options under consideration include recognising the mail as being delivered on the day it was sent, leaving the papers at the presidential office or residence, and posting the documents on a bulletin board and considering them effective after two weeks.
The court aims to review the options and state its plans as early as next Monday.
On Thursday, a lawyer representing impeached South Korean President had again denied the insurrection charges against him, saying anyone who intended to incite an insurrection would not have done what Yoon did and declare martial law before the world.
Seok Dong-hyeon, who is involved in forming Yoon's legal defence team, made the argument as the President is under investigation on insurrection charges over his short-lived martial law decree on December 3 and has been suspended from duty pending a Constitutional Court trial on his impeachment by the National Assembly.
"From President Yoon's perspective, he hasn't even thought about insurrection," Seok told reporters at his law firm in Seoul. "What kind of insurrection involves someone saying through a press conference before the people and the entire world, 'I am going to stage an insurrection?' and what kind of insurrection is dropped after two or three hours because the National Assembly ordered it?"
Seok was referring to the televised address Yoon gave on the night of December 3 to declare martial law and his lifting of the decree hours later after the National Assembly voted to reject it.
"The President told the deployed military and the police that they should not clash with citizens," the lawyer said. "The President is a jurist, so why would he talk about arrest? If they did arrest, where would they take them? I hope the people and the press consider such common sense."
Seok's remarks contradict testimony by multiple senior military officials that Yoon ordered troops to drag out lawmakers from inside the National Assembly building to stop them from voting down the decree and also ordered the arrest of prominent politicians while martial law was in force.
The lawyer said he does not think Yoon declared martial law out of personal grievances caused by struggles in running state affairs and personal humiliation, but based on a judgment that the nation was truly in a state of emergency.
Seok has known Yoon for more than 40 years since both were students at Seoul National University School of Law.
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