Seoul High Court Rejects Recusal Requests Filed by Yoon and Kim Yong-hyun

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[The Financial News] The Seoul High Court, which is handling the insurrection trial related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's Dec. 3 martial law declaration, rejected recusal requests filed by Yoon and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
On the 20th, Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul High Court, presided over by Judges Yoon Sung-sik, Min Sung-cheol and Lee Dong-hyun, dismissed Yoon's request to recuse Criminal Division 12, which is led by Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Jo Jin-gu and Kim Min-a.
Yoon had filed the recusal request against Criminal Division 12 on the 13th.
Yoon's side argued that a fair trial could not be expected because Criminal Division 12 used specific language acknowledging the facts of Yoon's charges when ruling on the appeal trial of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo over his role in the insurrection case. The defense said the court had already treated the allegations as guilty, making prejudice and preconceptions unavoidable.
The court, however, explained that "the related case and the main case are separate criminal proceedings" and that "the main case will be decided based on the evidence and level of proof submitted by the prosecutor, as well as the defendant's response, and therefore does not fall under the category of 'when there is concern that a judge may conduct an unfair trial.'"
The recusal requests filed by Kim and other military figures were also dismissed. Kim and former Defense Intelligence Command chief Noh Sang-won, among others, filed recusal requests against Criminal Division 12 on the 14th in the appeal trial over their involvement in the insurrection. They argued that Criminal Division 12 had rejected Kim's request to refer a constitutional review question to the court. After Criminal Division 1 was assigned to hear the recusal requests, Kim and Noh also filed a recusal request against Criminal Division 1 itself.
The court countered that "it was proper for the main trial panel to exercise its primary authority under the Constitution and law when ruling on the defendant's request for a constitutional review" and that "this does not constitute grounds for recusal or disqualification."
Regarding the recusal request against Criminal Division 1, the court added that "a panel formed under the Special Act on the Dedicated Trial Division for Insurrection Cases exercising its authority over a request for constitutional review of that special act does not constitute grounds for recusal or disqualification." It also said that "in light of the content and background of the request, the time interval, and the legal effects that could be expected, this recusal request appears to have been made ultimately for the purpose of delaying the proceedings in this case."
theknight@fnnews.com Jung Kyung-soo Reporter