[Anchor]
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial on charges of insurrection as a ringleader, repeated his claim that the emergency martial law was justified during his final statement in the appellate trial. The court announced that it will deliver its ruling for the second trial on January 26 next year.
Reporter Kwon Min-kyu has the details.
[Reporter]
Former President Yoon took the stand yesterday (November 5) as the last of the eight defendants to deliver his final statement.
Wearing glasses, Yoon read from a 26-page prepared text for one hour and 20 minutes.
[Yoon Suk Yeol / Former President: The declaration of martial law is the exclusive and discretionary authority of the president. The requirements for it fall under the high-level political judgment of the president...]б
Yoon argued that the December 3 emergency martial law was a legitimate exercise of presidential authority executed within the framework of the Constitution to rectify the opposition party's outrages.
He also stated that he never mobilized the military and police to block the National Assembly's resolution demanding the lifting of martial law.
[Yoon Suk Yeol / Former President: How is this even possible for a small number of troops without actual firearms amidst thousands of lawmakers, staff members, and reporters?]
He repeated the arguments that were rejected in both the impeachment trial and the first trial of his insurrection ringleader case.
He then requested an acquittal in accordance with the law and principles.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former Defense Intelligence Command Commander Noh Sang-won, who delivered their final statements earlier, also entirely denied the charges of insurrection.
During the hearing on October 29, the special counsel demanded the death penalty for Yoon in the appellate trial, just as in the first trial, stating that he had committed the "highest level of treason."
In February, the first-instance court sentenced Yoon to life imprisonment and former Minister Kim to 30 years in prison.
The court stated that it will deliver the appellate ruling on former President Yoon's charges, including insurrection as a ringleader, at 2:30 PM on January 26 next year.
(Photo: Yonhap News / Video by Yang Hyun-chul / Video Editing by Choi Hye-ran)
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