Ousted S. Korean president Yoon’s criminal trial begins as supporters continue to rally
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SEOUL - He was the star prosecutor-general who gained fame for putting two former South Korean presidents behind bars.
In a twist of fate, the same person, recently ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, now finds himself in the dock, facing criminal charges of insurrection for his shock declaration of martial law
Outside the Seoul Central District Court where the hearing was held on April 14, about 30 supporters of Yoon had gathered in the rain before the court session began, huddled under umbrellas and raincoats and carrying “Yoon Again” placards.
This is a far cry from the hundreds of supporters who had turned up to support him during the Constitutional Court hearings and kept vigil outside the presidential residence during that period.
After Yoon’s failed martial law attempt, the National Assembly voted to impeach him
The criminal trial on April 14 began in the morning, with Yoon denying all the charges.
Dressed in his usual navy blue suit, the former president gave an opening statement that lasted 40 minutes.
In the statement, he repeated the assertions he had made during the Constitutional Court proceedings that his declaration of martial law was a “message to the public” and not an act of insurrection.
“The martial law was made to clearly let the public know about the country’s desperate situation. This is different from the past martial law, which pursued military rule. It was made to protect freedom and democracy. Military coup and rule destroy freedom and democracy,” insisted Yoon.
The first hearing lasted more than eight hours, with a two-hour lunch break in between.
The next court session is set for April 21.
Yoon is South Korea’s fifth former president
As a prosecutor then, Yoon had ordered the arrest of Mr Lee on bribery charges and led the investigations into Ms Park’s bribery and abuse of power allegations.
Mr Lee and Ms Park were sentenced to 17 and 20 years, respectively, in prison but both have since received pardons.
If convicted, Yoon could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty, although South Korea has not executed anyone for decades.
Despite his ouster, his hardcore supporters continue to rally around him.
Among the supporters outside the court was one who, standing on a makeshift stage, spewed expletive-laden rants against the “wrongful prosecution of Yoon” and repeatedly screamed “Yoon Again” at a ear-splitting volume.
The “Yoon Again” slogan is reportedly adopted from a letter written by former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, a close confidant of Yoon who is currently detained in prison and facing charges of inciting rebellion for his role in the martial law fiasco.
In the letter revealed at a rally on April 7, Kim wrote about the “heartbreaking collapse of judicial justice in South Korea due to political manipulation and fraudulent impeachment”, and called for “a new beginning”, ending his letter with the words “Yoon Again”.
A man dressed up as a tiger, complete with face painting, was seeking shelter from the rain at a nearby building when The Straits Times spoke to him.
This Yoon supporter who only wants to be known as the “Tiger Ahjussi” has been dressing up as a tiger for the past three years to show his support for ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, whom he says looks like a tiger.
ST PHOTO: WENDY TEO
The 70-year-old Gyeongju city native, who declined to reveal his name, has been staying in Seoul, a two-hour train ride away from his home town, for the past four months since the martial law declaration.
He has been attending rallies to show his support for Yoon, whom he thinks resembles a tiger, hence his dressing like one in support.
“Our president is like a tiger enlightening people. The way he walks, the way he acts –it’s all tiger-like. I have been dressing up as a tiger ever since he became president. I have a tiger costume for all the different seasons – the one I’m wearing now is for spring,” he said.
The supporter insisted that Yoon is the only one fit to lead the country and needs to come back “to save the country” given the state of heightened tensions between North and South Korea.
On the opposite side of the thoroughfare leading to the courthouse was a 58-year-old man dressed in an inflatable cow costume. He said that he had no political affiliation, but wanted to put on a performance to cheer up the “South Korean people who are being defeated by political events beyond their control”.
In the Korean language, the term for “dairy cow” sounds like the word for “total defeat”.
A man dressed up as a cow appeared outside the Seoul Central District Court on April 14.
ST PHOTO: WENDY TEO
The crowd outside the court on April 14 was noticeably smaller than the hundreds that had gathered outside Yoon’s private residence at the Acrovista apartment complex for his return on April 11, after he vacated the presidential residence.
Following his ouster, Yoon, his wife and their 11 pets had moved back to the apartment they had lived in
Sited right opposite the Seoul Central District Court and a 10-minute walk from the Supreme Court, the Acrovista apartment complex is home to many high-ranking officials, judges and lawyers because of its location.
It is also the site of the Sampoong Department Store which collapsed in 1995, killing more than 500 people and injuring nearly 1,000. The Acrovista apartment complex was built over the site and completed in 2004.
Yoon’s security detail is said to be using this art gallery as a base to guard Yoon and his wife who moved back into the Acro Vista apartment complex with their 11 pets after leaving the presidential residence on April 11.
ST PHOTO: WENDY TEO
In the late afternoon on April 11, police officers had lined both sides of the road leading to the apartment complex as Yoon supporters jostled to catch a glimpse of the former president moving back to his private home.
A small group of anti-Yoon demonstrators gathered a five-minute walk away from the supporters outside Acrovista, taunting the Yoon supporters. A small scuffle broke out between two men from the two separate camps but police officers stepped in quickly to pull them apart.
Supporters whom ST spoke to outside Acrovista on April 11, baulked at the idea of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who is leading the opinion polls as most favoured presidential candidate, as the next leader. Lee lost narrowly to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election.
An 82-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Madam Ha, said: “Lee Jae-myung lies so well, we cannot make him our president! I still support Yoon Suk Yeol, and I will support anyone who is in his camp.”
As for Madam Jeong Kwan-eun, 44, who had brought her eight-year-old son with her to catch a glimpse of the former president, she is reluctant to see anyone other than Yoon as president.
“I cannot think of anyone else whom I can trust. Perhaps former labour minister Kim Moon-soo, he is a Yoon supporter so I think he stands a good chance.”
South Korea will vote for a new president on June 3.
Wendy Teo is The Straits Times’ South Korea correspondent based in Seoul. She covers issues concerning the two Koreas.
