South Korea: Yoon absent from his insurrection trial for 6th consecutive time

Seoul, Aug 28 Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was absent from his insurrection trial for the sixth consecutive time on Thursday, leading the court to proceed without him.

Yoon has refused to appear for his trial at the Seoul Central District Court since his second arrest on July 10, citing health issues.

The bench opened Thursday's hearing by noting the defendant was absent again and that the detention centre where Yoon is jailed had sent a note explaining the difficulty of bringing him by force.

Under the Criminal Procedure Code, a trial can proceed in the absence of the defendant in the event he refuses to attend without legitimate grounds, and it is deemed impossible or significantly difficult for a prison officer to bring him in by force.

The former president has been standing trial on charges of leading an insurrection and abusing his power through his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.

Insurrection carries a maximum sentence of life in prison or death, Yonhap news agency reported.

During Thursday's hearing, the court is scheduled to hear witness testimony from two military officials involved in the martial law plan.

Earlier on August 27, a South Korean court held a hearing on whether to issue a warrant to arrest former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched imposition of martial law.

The Seoul Central District Court began the hearing at 1:30 p.m. after special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested the warrant on charges of abetting the ringleader of an insurrection, falsifying and destroying official documents, perjury and other offences.

Han had arrived at the court shortly before the hearing and entered the building without answering reporters' questions.

Should the court issue the warrant, a decision that could come as early as later the same day, Han will become the third Cabinet member of the Yoon administration to be arrested in connection with the martial law attempt in December.

The others are former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.

Han is accused of abetting Yoon's imposition of martial law by proposing a Cabinet meeting before the decree's declaration.

He is also suspected of drafting and later destroying a revised proclamation intended to enhance the legitimacy of the decree.

Furthermore, he is accused of lying under oath at the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly that he was not aware that Yoon had given him a copy of the martial law declaration until after the decree was lifted.

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