Seoul, Oct 1 (IANS) A Seoul court on Wednesday granted a special counsel team’s request to broadcast the insurrection trial of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The Seoul Central District Court said it will allow Thursday’s trial hearing to be broadcast from its opening until the start of questioning of witnesses, Yonhap News Agency reported.
This will be the second time Yoon’s trial proceedings are broadcast. Last week, his trial on charges of obstructing the execution of official duties was broadcast.
Thursday’s hearing will be on his charges of leading an insurrection and abusing his power through his failed imposition of martial law in December.
The exclusion of witness questioning from the broadcast is likely due to national security considerations, as the witnesses include military officials.
Yoon has been held in custody since his second arrest on July 10.
On Tuesday, former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol failed to appear before a special counsel team for questioning again over allegations related to his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.
Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team earlier summoned Yoon for questioning over allegations of attempting to incite foreign aggression after he snubbed their previous summons last week.
Yoon remained unresponsive to the team’s latest summons, failing to submit any documentation over his nonappearance, according to assistant special counsel Park Ji-young.
“As with any ordinary suspect who refuses a special counsel summons, (we) will take (further measures) in line with the Criminal Procedure Act,” she said.
Her remarks suggested that special prosecutors could consider forcibly bringing him in for questioning.
The team had been expected to question Yoon over allegations that he ordered the dispatch of drones to North Korea last October to incite its retaliation and use it as justification for his future declaration of martial law.
–IANS
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