Live: President Yoon claims opposition was trying to "destroy administration," officials back legality of martial law

The Constitutional Court opens its final week of formal hearings today with four witnesses taking the stand in the latest session.

For details I have our correspondent Oh Soo-young is standing by live at the court.

Soo-young welcome back.

So the hearing today began with former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min .

Let's start with his testimony.

Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min appeared to back the President's claims that his martial law was legal, against assertions that Yoon had bypassed Cabinet procedures required before declaring the decree.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok has claimed a formal Cabinet meeting was not held beforehand, and he had not seen Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun recommend the decree to the Prime Minister, as per the Constitutional requirement for martial law.

Lee said while it wasn't scheduled as a Cabinet meeting, around seven members initially gathered, and waited for the 11-member quorum to be filled.

He said, "Those present would have considered themselves to be in a Cabinet meeting."

"When martial law was declared for the first time in 45 years, there were concerns about whether the public would accept it, its diplomatic and economic impact, and the political backlash from the opposition."

Also, in direct contradiction with prosecutors' records, Lee denied he'd asked the National Fire Agency to cut water and power to news organizations, and said he did not receive such orders from Yoon.

While the former minister said he tried to dissuade the President from declaring martial law, he understood where the decision came from.

Yoon himself took to reiterate his claim that the opposition Democratic Party had sabotaged the administration by constantly impeaching officials, and, crucially, cutting the government budget.

National Security Advisor Shin Won-sik also indicated that external, hybrid security threats were mounting, calling for national unity, and the opposition-led forces were thwarting an effective government response.

He said he and other senior secretaries had voiced their concerns over declaring martial law, but added Yoon agreed right away to lift martial law once Parliament passed a motion to revoke it.

Now, former Third Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service Baek Jong-wook is testifying.

The questions for him and Secretary-General of the National Election Commission Kim Yong-bin,.., are expected to focus on election fraud allegations raised by Yoon as a pretext for declaring martial law.

Meanwhile Soo-young I hear the Constitutional Court has yet to decide on additional hearings beyond what has been planned as the final and eighth hearing this coming Thursday?

That's right. In order to conclude the hearings, the bench must hear the closing arguments from both legal teams and President Yoon's final statement.

This would take around two to three hours, and given that four witness testimonies are planned for Thursday, it is unlikely that justices will conclude the hearings then.

Experts say more witnesses are likely to be summoned as some of the main testimonies we've heard so far have caused more confusion due to discrepancies with previous statements made in prosecutorial records or conflicting narratives between witnesses.

The President's side again on Tuesday contested the Court's decision to accept investigation records as evidence.

While the Court has emphasized its commitment to a speedy trial, there's been concern that back-to-back witness questioning, twice a week doesn't allow much time for a thorough review of the testimonies or evidence.

Still, the opposition has called for a quick end to the trial,.. saying the evidence is out there.

"Our patience is wearing thin. How much longer must we put up with baseless conspiracy theories about election fraud? There's already been enough consideration given to the respondent through this week's witness examination. We hope for a swift conclusion to the proceedings."

All right Soo-young thank you for the latest on the president's impeachment trial.