South Korea: President Yoon faces criminal trial

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in court on Thursday for the first hearing of his criminal trial over insurrection charges.

Yoon arrived amid high security at the Seoul central district court, becoming the first South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case.

In December, Yoon briefly imposed martial law in South Korea and parliament subsequently voted to impeach him in mid-December.

Prosecutors have accused the suspended president of being the "ringleader of an insurrection".

They called for quick proceedings considering the case's "gravity", but Yoon's lawyers said they needed more time to review records.

Yoon's lawyer Kim Hong-il said his declaration of martial law was not intended to paralyse the state.

Instead, he said, it was meant to "alert the public to the national crisis caused by the legislative dictatorship of the dominant opposition party, which had crippled the administration."

Political Crisis in South Korea

Last month, prosecutors indicted Yoon, accusing him of orchestrating an insurrection through his brief imposition of martial law

Initially, Yoon barricaded himself inside his Seoul compound before eventually being arrested in January.

He was formally indicted on January 26 on the charge of rebellion.

The Constitutional Court is separately considering whether to formally dismiss Yoon or reinstate him as president.

The crime of insurrection is one of the few criminal charges for which the president of South Korea does not enjoy immunity. It is punishable by life imprisonment or death. However, South Korea has not executed anyone in decades.

Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. He called his martial law a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger posed by a liberal-controlled National Assembly obstructing his agenda and impeaching top officials.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse