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South Korea: Yoon's legal team requests recusal of 3 justices from impeachment case

By IANS | Updated: February 1, 2025 12:55 IST

Seoul, Feb 1 South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's legal team in his impeachment case said on Saturday ...

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Seoul, Feb 1 South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's legal team in his impeachment case said on Saturday that it has submitted a formal request to the Constitutional Court, urging three justices to recuse themselves, citing concerns over impartiality.

Yoon's team said it made a request on Friday for the recusals of Justice Moon Hyung-bae, Justice Lee Mi-seon and Justice Chung Gye-seon over concerns of potential political bias.

The team pointed to Moon, the acting chief justice, of having engaged in social media interaction with Lee Jae-myung, head of the main Opposition Democratic Party, in the past, raising suspicion of political impartiality.

Yoon's lawyers also raised concerns over Lee, noting that her brother is a vice chairman of a committee at the Lawyers for a Democratic Society and demanding the President's resignation.

For Chung, Yoon's team raised concerns that her husband, a lawyer, signed a public declaration calling for Yoon's impeachment.

The team argued the inclinations of the justices have already influenced the court's handling of the case, Yonhap news agency reported.

Many legal watchers believe the Constitutional Court is unlikely to grant the request, as it has recently expressed concern over accusations targeting the court's judicial independence.

Earlier on Friday, the South Korean Cabinet demanded that the National Assembly reconsider an Opposition-proposed Bill calling for a special counsel probe into President Yoon Suk Yeol regarding his failed martial law attempt last month.

The motion demanding reconsideration was approved during a Cabinet meeting, chaired by acting President Choi Sang-mok, who emphasised that there was no probable cause for appointing a special counsel, as Yoon had already been arrested and indicted on insurrection charges.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol also met with his senior aides on Friday at the Seoul Detention Centre and urged them to continue their work without being discouraged.

Yoon made the call during his meeting with Chung Jin-suk, his Chief of Staff, National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik, and three other senior aides at the centre in Uiwang, south of Seoul.

It marked the first visit by Yoon's aides since the impeached President had been formally detained on January 19 over allegations of insurrection and abuse of power related to his short-lived imposition of martial law last month.

Earlier, on January 28, Yoon had defended his decision to declare martial law in a meeting with his legal representatives.

Yoon was accused of conspiring with former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to incite an insurrection on December 3 by declaring an unconstitutional and illegal state of emergency, despite the absence of any signs of war, armed conflict, or a comparable national crisis.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

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