Yoon’s First Verdicts Expected in Insurrection and Obstruction of Arrest Cases... Five Trials Set for This Week [This Week’s Court Schedule]

According to The Financial News, the courts this week (December 12–16) are scheduled to hold the postponed sentencing recommendation hearing in former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection leadership case and to deliver the first-instance verdict in his obstruction of arrest case. In addition, Yoon will see three more criminal proceedings get underway. With the first-instance trial of former Minister of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) Lee Sang-min, indicted over alleged power cuts and water shutoffs targeting media outlets, also set to wrap up, trials related to the December 3 emergency martial-law situation are expected to reach a turning point this week.
The legal community said on the 11th that Criminal Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Jee Kui-yeon, will hold a closing arguments hearing at 9:30 a.m. on the 13th in the insurrection case against former president Yoon and former Minister of National Defense (MND) Kim Yong-hyun, along with other military and police commanders. The hearing had initially been expected to conclude on the 9th, but the court added an extra day after extended evidence examination requested by Kim’s side. When Yoon’s defense protested that “it is not appropriate to deliver the most crucial arguments in a half-awake state,” the bench agreed to schedule an additional date on the condition that “the proceedings will definitely end at the next hearing.”
At the December 13 hearing, the court is expected to complete evidence examination requested by Yoon’s defense, followed by the special prosecutor’s final opinion and sentencing recommendation, and then the defendants’ final statements. The statutory penalty for the charge of leading an insurrection brought against Yoon is death, life imprisonment, or life confinement, drawing intense attention to the severity of the sentence the special prosecutor will seek.
The first-instance verdict in Yoon’s obstruction of arrest case is scheduled for the 16th. Criminal Division 35 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Baek Dae-hyun, Chief Judge of the Criminal Division, Seoul Central District Court, will hold a sentencing hearing at 2 p.m. that day in the case where Yoon stands indicted on charges including special obstruction of the performance of official duties. Yoon is accused of mobilizing the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to block the execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), and of interfering with some cabinet members’ exercise of their authority to deliberate on the declaration of martial law at the State Council meeting.
At the closing arguments hearing on November 26, the special prosecutor requested a 10-year prison sentence for Yoon. This case is the first among Yoon’s prosecutions related to the emergency martial-law situation to reach a verdict, and observers are closely watching how the court will interpret the State Council’s deliberation procedures.
Yoon also faces three additional court dates this week. On the 12th, the first trial hearing will open in the so-called “Pyongyang drone” case, in which he is accused of sending an unmanned aerial vehicle into Pyongyang in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to fabricate grounds for declaring martial law. Yoon was placed under an additional detention warrant in connection with this case on the 2nd. On the 13th, the court will hold a first preparatory hearing in a perjury case stemming from his testimony at the trial of former Prime Minister of South Korea Han Duck-soo, and on the 14th it will open a preparatory hearing in the case where he is charged with aiding the escape of former MND Minister Lee Jong-sup. Only the defense attorneys are expected to appear at these preparatory sessions.
On the 12th, the first-instance closing arguments hearing for former MOIS Minister Lee Sang-min will also take place. Lee is accused of ordering the National Fire Agency (NFA) to cut power and water supplies to certain media outlets at the direction of Yoon during the period of martial law. At this hearing, the court will first examine testimony from Kang Uigu, former Chief Presidential Secretary for the First Lady, and then, in the afternoon, hear the special prosecutor’s sentencing recommendation followed by Lee’s final statement.
Meanwhile, the appellate ruling in the “50-billion-won tobacco lawsuit” will be handed down on the 15th. Civil Division 6-1 of the Seoul High Court, with a panel consisting of judges Park Hye-bin, Judge Kwon Soon-min of the Seoul High Court, and Judge Lee Kyung-hoon of the Seoul High Court, will deliver the second-instance judgment in the 53.3-billion-won damages suit filed by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) against three tobacco companies, including KT&G Corporation. The NHIS sought to hold the companies socially accountable for the harms of smoking and claimed reimbursement of medical costs paid for patients suffering from diseases causally linked to smoking. However, the court of first instance ruled in favor of the tobacco firms, finding that the causal relationship between smoking and the illnesses at issue had not been sufficiently established.
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter