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South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was re-arrested on Thursday over his failed attempt to impose martial law last year, will skip his trial hearing, state media reported.
Yonhap reported that Yoon, 65, was arrested on the orders of a Seoul court after special counsel cited concerns that the former President could destroy evidence. Citing health concerns, Yoon's lawyers submitted a written reason shortly before the hearing was scheduled to begin stating that the former President will not attend the trial. The fomer President is being held at the Seoul Detention Centre. If convicted of insurrection, Yoon, who was impeached in April, could face a maximum penalty of life in prison or death. South Korea state media said that Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee is also being investigated on charges of stock manipulation, election interference and bribery. The Yonhap reported that investigators conducted searches at the home of former prosecutor Kim Sang-min. The raids are part of special counsel Min Joong-ki's investigation into allegations the former first lady meddled in the PPP's nomination of candidates for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections and 2024 general elections. In the case of the 2024 general elections, the former first lady is suspected of having tried to get the former prosecutor nominated for the district previously won by Kim Young-sun. Snap elections were held in June after which the country's new president, Lee Jae Myung, approved legislation for special investigations into Yoon failed bid to push martial law and various criminal accusations tied to his administration and wife. The former President was impeached on December 14 last year was first arrested on January 15 before he was released on March 8 after a court overturned his arrest on technical grounds but still faces trial. South Korea had plunged into a political crisis after Yoon sought to subvert civilian government on December 3, sending armed soldiers to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers from voting down his declaration of martial law. According to the Yonhap report, among the charges against him, the former president is accused of creating a false martial law declaration document after December 3 to add legitimacy to his actions and having it signed by then Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and then Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun before discarding it. The other charges involve his alleged instruction to the presidential spokesperson for foreign press to distribute false statements denying his intent to destroy the constitutional order through the martial law attempt, his alleged instruction to the Presidential Security Service to block his detention by investigators in early January and his alleged order to delete call records from secure phones used by three military commanders. It is also alleged that Yoon sought to provoke a military response from North Korea by ordering drone incursions into Pyongyang's airspace last October - allegedly as a pretext to invoke his presidential authority to impose martial law. (ANI)
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