Yoon's 'Insurrection Ringleader' Trial Nears Conclusion... Remanded Divorce Proceedings for Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong Begin [This Week's Court Schedule]

[Financial News] This week (5th–9th), the court will hear the sentencing request from the special prosecutor regarding former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s alleged role as the ringleader of an insurrection. The remanded divorce proceedings between Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Roh Soh-yeong, director of Art Center Nabi—dubbed the 'divorce of the century'—will also officially begin this week.
According to the legal community on the 4th, the Criminal Agreement Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Ji Gui-yeon) will hold four consecutive hearings on the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th for the closing arguments in the case involving former President Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Jiho, and other military and police leaders related to the December 12–3 emergency martial law. On the 5th and 6th, the remaining evidence review, including witness examination for former Minister Kim, will be completed, while on the 7th and 9th, the special prosecutor and defendants will make their final statements.
The main focus is the special prosecutor’s sentencing recommendation. The statutory penalties for the charge of leading an insurrection are limited to death, life imprisonment, or life penal servitude, so attention is focused on what sentence the special prosecutor will seek for Yoon. Final statements from Yoon and Kim are also scheduled. However, if Jo Jiho is unable to attend the hearing on the 9th due to health reasons, a separate session may be held on the 22nd to conclude the proceedings.
The first trial verdict is expected in early to mid-next month. At a preparatory hearing on the 2nd, the court stated, 'We plan to conclude arguments on the 9th and deliver a verdict in February.' Given that a regular judicial reshuffle is scheduled for the end of February, it is likely that the verdict will be delivered before then.
During the trial, Yoon has maintained that the declaration of martial law was a 'warning' within the legitimate authority of the president, that deploying the military to the National Assembly was a measure to 'maintain order,' and that he did not issue any direct orders. Kim Yong-hyun’s defense also argued that the martial law was intended as a warning, while Jo Jiho testified that he received instructions from Yoon to arrest lawmakers under the martial law decree.
Separately, Yoon has also been indicted in the 'Pyongyang drone incident.' On the 2nd, an additional arrest warrant was issued on grounds of 'concerns about evidence destruction,' extending his detention by six months. On the 8th, the Seoul High Court will hold the first preparatory hearing for the appeal of Sangwon Noh, former Commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, who was sentenced to prison in the first trial for receiving personal information of intelligence officers and accepting bribes in exchange for promotions in connection with the establishment of the 'Second Investigation Unit.'
On the 9th, the first hearing of the remanded divorce proceedings between Chey Tae-won and Roh Soh-yeong will be held by Family Division 1 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Lee Sang-joo). The couple married in 1998, but conflicts arose after Chey’s extramarital child was revealed in 2015, leading to a formal divorce suit in 2018.
In the first trial, the court ordered 100 million won in alimony and 66.5 billion won in division of assets. The second trial recognized Roh’s contribution and dramatically increased the division of assets to approximately 1.38 trillion won, with alimony raised to 2 billion won. Last October, the Supreme Court of Korea remanded only the division of assets while upholding the alimony decision. The Supreme Court ruled that the 'Roh Tae-woo slush fund,' which the second trial had considered as a basis for its decision, was illegal and could not be counted as Roh’s contribution to the assets. The final amount of the division of assets is expected to be the key issue in the remanded trial.

scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter