South Korea: Ex-President Yoon attends fourth hearing of insurrection trial

Seoul, May 19 (IANS) Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the fourth hearing of his insurrection trial on Monday following controversy over his influence on next month's presidential election.

Yoon arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in a black van and entered the building without answering reporters' questions. This was the second time he entered the court through the open entrance, as he was allowed to use the underground parking route for his first two appearances.

Monday's hearing dealt not only with charges that Yoon led an insurrection through his December 3 declaration of martial law but also with fresh charges that he abused his power through the decree.

Two witnesses were summoned to testify -- Park Jeong-hwan, chief of staff of the Army Special Warfare Command, and Lee Sang-hyun, former head of the 1st Airborne Special Forces Brigade.

After taking the witness stand, Park recalled seeing Lt. Gen. Kwak Jong-keun, then head of the Army Special Warfare Command, take multiple phone calls on the night of December 3.

Though he could not hear the person on the other end of the line, Park said he did hear Kwak repeating after the other person and saying he would "enter even by breaking down doors."

Kwak earlier testified during Yoon's impeachment trial that the former president instructed him by phone to enter the National Assembly building by breaking down doors and "drag out" people, in an apparent reference to lawmakers gathering to vote down his decree.

The election to pick Yoon's successor is two weeks away on June 3, as he was impeached and removed from office over the martial law declaration, Yonhap news agency reported.

On Saturday, he left the conservative People Power Party under pressure following perceptions that his continued membership was weighing on the party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, whose approval rating has lagged far behind that of his liberal Democratic Party rival Lee Jae-myung.

If convicted of insurrection, Yoon could be sentenced to a maximum penalty of life in prison or death.

--IANS

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