[Politics & Diplomacy] Political turmoil over Yoon's trial: Assembly committee orders Pres. Yoon to appear

Since the president's martial law declaration almost two months ago, tensions and feud have only grown within the political circles.

To delve deeper into the standoff, let's turn to our political correspondent Shin Ha-young.

Ha-young, the first hearing of the National Assembly's special committee to investigate the Yoon administration's alleged insurrection plan took place today.

What are the key takeaways from today's hearing?

Well, the first thing we need to look at is the issuance of orders to bring key officials including President Yoon Suk Yeol to the hearing as witnesses.

President Yoon and former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who were requested to appear at the National Assembly to answer lawmakers' questions, did not show up to the hearing.

In response, the opposition-led committee issued orders to bring Yoon and six other military officials to the Assembly as witnesses.

"We are issuing an order for seven witnesses, including Yoon Suk Yeol, please carry them out."

The ruling People Power Party criticized the opposition for trying to embarrass the president.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min attended the hearing, but Lee continued to refuse to answer questions.

At the hearing, the opposition focused on verifying allegations that President Yoon denied during yesterday's impeachment trial; while the ruling party argued that the CIO's insurrection investigation and Yoon's detention were unlawful.

"Without legal grounds, how can the CIO conduct illegal investigations and claim the Presidential Security Service acted unlawfully? Deputy Chief, you should respond firmly."

President Yoon refuses investigations, but he did attend his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court yesterday. What could have been the reasons behind this?

Well, first of all, it was an unprecedented moment, as Yoon became the first president to attend his own impeachment trial.

President Yoon had said he would attend the trial but skipped the first two hearings, citing security and protocol reasons.

Experts say that there were concerns he could be arrested upon arrival, as an outstanding warrant hadn't been executed at that time.

However, the situation changed after another arrest warrant seeking a longer period of detention was issued.

Unlike other investigations, impeachment hearings are public, and by attending, Yoon seems to want to show his supporters he's strong while also emphasizing the unfairness of the impeachment.

Some even interpret this as an attempt to sway public opinion.

As Yoon's legal team stated, the president will attend the hearing at the Constitutional Court again tomorrow.

So this is another point to watch for on Thursday.

Lawmakers are also clashing over a bill for a special investigation into the president's brief imposition of martial law. How has the situation been unfolding?

Well, all eyes were on whether there would be room for negotiations over the bill, but the political strife only intensified.

An opposition-led revised bill to launch a special counsel investigation into President Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law was passed by a National Assembly plenary session on Friday.

This came after rival party floor leaders failed to reach an agreement on the bill during negotiations.

Instead, the DP revised its own version of the bill and brought it to a vote.

The bill that passed excludes allegations of "inducement of foreign aggression" and focuses on six specific allegations, compared to the 11 outlined in the original version.

Instead, the DP added a provision allowing the special counsel to investigate "related cases," not just Yoon's declaration of martial law.

The ruling party opposed the revised bill, arguing that its vague provisions could allow investigations into accusations not originally listed, including those previously removed.

One factor we also need to take a close look at is that the investigation appears to be losing momentum after Yoon transitioned from a temporary detainee to a criminal suspect on insurrection charges.

Since overlapping investigations are not allowed, the special prosecutor would be unable to charge Yoon with insurrection.

The PPP argues that the bill is unnecessary because most key figures, including President Yoon, have already been arrested or indicted.

The DP, on the other hand, claimed that it had incorporated the PPP's demands, and urged the acting president to approve the bill immediately, warning that any delay would prolong the insurrection.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok has until February 2nd to either approve or reject the bill; if rejected, it will be returned to the Assembly for a revote.

He is expected to decide after the Lunar New Year holiday, or Seollal.

Thanks for the wrap-up today, Ha-young.

My pleasure.