A criminal case against a former South Korean president, who is suspected of inciting insurrection, is scheduled to begin on the 14th. Ten days after the South Korean Constitutional Court ruled to remove the former president from office, he will become the fifth former South Korean president to stand trial.
On April 11, the former president shook hands with supporters when leaving his official residence.
The South Korean prosecution alleges that the former president conspired with former defense minister and others to declare an unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law without signs of war, incidents or similar national emergencies. The former president's side argues that the emergency martial law was a legitimate act and should not be the subject of judicial review.
South Korean media reported that if convicted of inciting insurrection, the 64 - year - old former president could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
The Seoul Central District Court will start the first hearing at 10 a.m. local time on the 14th. As a defendant in a criminal case, the former president is obliged to appear in court. According to reports, the court has banned media from taking pictures inside the courtroom, so the scene of the former president's trial will not be made public.
The Seoul Central District Court has taken security measures around the courthouse to deal with possible rallies and demonstrations.
According to the procedure, the judge will verify the identity of the defendant at the beginning of the hearing. The former president must state his name, date of birth, occupation and address. The judge will then read out the charges against the former president, who is expected to deny them. The former president may also ask the judge for permission to make a personal statement to clarify his position.
During the first hearing on the 14th, the commander of the 1st Security Regiment of the Capital Defense Command and others will testify as witnesses. When the South Korean Constitutional Court held an official debate on the impeachment case of the former president in February, the commander testified that during the emergency martial law, the former commander of the Capital Defense Command had issued an order to "enter the National Assembly and drag out the lawmakers".
On December 3 last year, the former president issued an emergency martial law order, which sparked condemnation from public opinion and the people in South Korea. On December 14 of the same year, the South Korean National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against the former president.
On January 19, the Seoul Western District Court approved an arrest warrant for the former president. The former president became the first sitting South Korean president in the country's constitutional history to be detained for investigation.
On January 26, the "Joint Investigation Headquarters" detained and indicted the former president on suspicion of inciting insurrection. The former president became the first sitting South Korean president in the country's constitutional history to be indicted.
On April 4, the South Korean Constitutional Court passed the impeachment case of the former president, and the former president was immediately removed from office, becoming the second president in South Korea's constitutional history to be removed from office after another former president.
