President Yoon's impeachment trial resumes with key martial law witnesses likely to testify against him

The impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol, which was temporarily paused due to the Lunar New Year holiday, will resume today.

The fifth hearing in Yoon’s case is expected to feature key witnesses who were involved in the martial law order.

For more, we have our Oh Soo-young at the Constitutional Court.

1. Sooyoung, the fifth hearing on Tuesday afternoon will include key witnesses for the National Assembly side which is arguing for impeachment. Tell us more.

Sure, Dami. The three witnesses testifying at the Court this afternoon were key military and intelligence officials involved in executing the December 3rd martial law decree. They'll each be questioned for ninety minutes from 2:30 PM today.

Given what they have already told investigators, they're hugely unfavorable witnesses for the President.

Lee Jin-woo, former commander of the Capital Defense Command, reportedly claimed he was ordered by Yoon himself to deploy martial law forces, storm the National Assembly by force, and drag out legislators to stop them from overturning martial law.

Yeo In-hyung, former chief of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, is said to have been ordered by former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun to arrest certain politicians.

And Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, has said he was informed of the arrests to be made, and was told to "seize them all this time" for a "total clean-up."

President Yoon has denied the major allegations, including the order to blockade the National Assembly and the National Election Commission, the drafting of budget notes for an emergency legislative body, and the order to arrest politicians.

So the hearing this afternoon could feature conflicting testimonies that the President himself would likely try to refute.

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Q2. With President Yoon denying all charges, and defending himself, how long do you see this trial stretching on?

Well, for now, there are three more hearings scheduled until next Thursday, but it's unclear whether the Constitutional Court will be able to wrap up the case by then, or choose to hear from more witnesses, which would inevitably prolong the trial.

So far, the Court has been firm about sticking to the schedule and delivering a swift trial process.

The case also seems less complex compared to former President Park Geun-hye's trial in 2017 which involved 16 hearings and over 30 witnesses, compared to Yoon's 8 hearings and dozen witnesses.

So based on the Court's current schedule, a verdict could be out by the end of the month, or early March, given that it took 10 days to deliver a ruling on Park's trial, and 14 days in the case of former President Roh Moo-hyun.

But the conflicting testimonies may require more witnesses for cross-checking and verification of whether Yoon directly issued martial law orders, whether the decrees were unconstitutional, and whether he had pre-planned the martial law.

Yoon's team has applied for more than 24 witnesses, and the Court is still reviewing the candidates.

Also, as Yoon's representatives continue to challenge the Court's proceedings, experts say the trial could also be lengthened.

"Unlike in former President Park Geun-hye’s case, where her defense team did not engage much in legal debates, this time, President Yoon’s legal team is aggressively contesting legal arguments. Also, the speed of the proceedings is important, of course, but if the trial is rushed too much, leading to a lack of thorough evidence review, that would be a very dangerous outcome."

Most experts believe the trial would be concluded before mid-April when two justices are set to retire, but Professor Chang says a longer timeline cannot be ruled out based on what we've seen so far over the past four hearings.

I see. Keep us updated during the day, Sooyoung.