South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in a Seoul court for his impeachment trial Tuesday, defending his short-lived martial law bid and denying charges that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers away.

South Korean president Yoon's declaration of martial law not only stress tested South Korea's democracy, it may also contribute to destabilising the fragile US-Japan-South Korea trilateral.

South Korea hit another political milestone on Sunday, as impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol became the country’s first sitting president ever to be indicted.

South Korea's Constitutional Court adjourned the opening session of the impeachment trial of suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol within minutes on Tuesday, after the embattled leader did not attend court.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attend a rally to oppose his impeachment near the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials in Gwacheon, South Korea, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court convened its first hearing on Tuesday to determine whether suspended President, Yoon Suk Yeol should be permanently removed from office following his controversial declaration of martial law last month.

Suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol will attend the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial on Thursday, his lawyers said, as former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun is slated to appear and testify as well.

Yonhap news agency says South Korean prosecutors have indicted the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his imposition of martial law.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol tried to demolish his country’s democracy. In a shocking late-night television address, Yoon declared “emergency martial law” and put the country under military rule.

If South Korea is to remain a free and stable democracy, it cannot have one party unjustifiably impeaching government officials and the other imposing martial law.

The jailed president Yoon Suk Yeol, who had been holed up in his presidential compound for weeks after issuing a martial law decree last month, now faces rebellion charges punishable by the death penalty or life in prison.