Yoon Seok-yeol Faces Criminal Trial Following Impeachment

On April 4, the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, leading to his removal from office and subjecting him to a criminal trial for insurrection charges. With his dismissal, the constitutional privilege of non-prosecution is no longer applicable to him. Both the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (공수처) are reportedly reviewing whether to proceed with charges and investigations.

According to legal sources on April 5, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25, presided over by Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, is set to hold the first formal trial for Yoon on April 14, where he faces charges of being the mastermind behind the insurrection. Yoon attended the initial preparatory hearing in February but did not appear for the second preparatory session last month. While attendance is not mandatory during preparatory hearings, he is required to be present for the formal trial starting on the 14th.

The first trial will include witness examinations of Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and Foreign Minister Jo Tae-yeol. However, the court indicated during the second preparatory session that if either of the witnesses cannot attend, the examination may be postponed to April 21, and the prosecution was asked to propose alternative witnesses. Additional trial dates have been set for April 21, April 28, and May 8.

Yoon's legal team has denied all charges during the preparatory hearings, arguing that the initial investigation conducted by the 공수처, which lacks jurisdiction over insurrection cases, renders the prosecution's charges unlawful. They also claimed that the indictment did not clearly specify the charges. The prosecution has requested to summon 38 witnesses, stating they will first examine these witnesses before revealing plans for additional evidence.

In addition, the prosecution is reportedly considering additional charges against Yoon for abuse of power related to the 'Emergency Martial Law' declared on December 3. The Special Investigation Headquarters, led by Park Se-hyun, head of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, had previously indicted Yoon on January 26 but did not include abuse of power charges at that time due to the constitutional privilege preventing such charges related to insurrection.

The prosecution is also pursuing allegations involving political broker Myung Tae-kyun, asserting that an investigation into Yoon is necessary. The core of the allegations is that Yoon's camp received polling results from Myung's side 81 times during the last presidential election and, in exchange, provided Kim Young-sun's candidacy for a by-election instead of paying for the polling costs. A civic group filed a complaint against Yoon and Myung for violations of political funding laws last year, and the prosecution has secured and analyzed Myung's 'golden phone' used during that period.

The Seoul High Prosecutors' Office is reviewing an appeal regarding the dismissal of allegations against Kim Geon-hee related to the 'Dior bag' acceptance and her involvement in the 'Deutsche Motors stock manipulation' case. If the High Prosecutors' Office issues a re-investigation order, these cases may be reopened.

Additionally, there are several cases against Yoon pending with the 공수처, including the 'fallen Marine' incident, where Yoon allegedly ordered the withholding of investigation records related to the death of Corporal Chae Soo-geun during disaster recovery efforts. This case has been reported by civic groups and political parties as an abuse of power. Complaints regarding the allegations against Myung and bribery related to Kim's Dior bag acceptance have also been filed with the 공수처.

The 공수처 is also investigating the 'complaint solicitation' allegations raised against Yoon when he was the Prosecutor General in 2020. The whistleblower, Cho Sung-eun, has accused Yoon, his wife, former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, and former lawmaker Kim Woong. This case has been assigned to the third investigation division of the 공수처. Previously, the 공수처 directly indicted Prosecutor General Son Jun-sung, who was convicted in the first trial but had the verdict overturned in the second trial, with the case currently under review by the Supreme Court.

Moreover, the 공수처 has received a complaint from lawmaker Hwang Un-ha, alleging that Yoon improperly directed the prosecution of the Ulsan mayoral election interference case during his tenure as Prosecutor General.

However, it has been reported that the 공수처 will not immediately intensify its investigation into Yoon. They plan to prioritize completing investigations involving military and police personnel related to the Emergency Martial Law before proceeding with Yoon's case. The 공수처 is currently operating under a task force system involving all prosecutors and investigators for the Emergency Martial Law investigation.