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🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

Court Denies Judges' Recusal in Yoon Suk-yeol Rebellion Case

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A South Korean court rejected a motion by former President Yoon Suk-yeol and other defendants to recuse the trial judges in a rebellion case.
  • The defendants had argued that the judges showed prejudice based on a previous ruling in a related case.
  • The court ruled that the previous ruling did not indicate bias and that the current trial would proceed based on evidence presented.

In a significant development for the ongoing rebellion case, South Korea's Seoul High Court has dismissed the motion filed by former President Yoon Suk-yeol and three other defendants seeking to disqualify the judges presiding over their appeal.

The defendants, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former National Intelligence Service Director Noh Sang-won, had argued that the trial panel, specifically Division 12-1 of the Seoul High Court's Criminal Division, had already formed a prejudicial opinion against them. Their argument stemmed from a previous ruling by the same panel concerning former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's involvement in the rebellion case, which they claimed indicated a predisposition towards guilt.

The related case is not a prerequisite for the main case, and the main case will be judged based on the degree of evidence submitted by the prosecution and the defendant's response.

· Seoul High CourtRuling on the recusal motion filed by former President Yoon Suk-yeol and other defendants.

However, the appellate court, specifically Criminal Division 1, found no grounds for recusal. The court stated that the previous ruling on Han Duck-soo's case was a separate legal matter and that the current trial would be decided based on the evidence presented by the prosecution and the defendants' responses. The judges emphasized that a prior ruling in a related case does not inherently signify bias or an inability to conduct a fair trial.

Furthermore, the court rejected a subsequent recusal request against Division 1 itself, deeming it a tactic to delay proceedings. The defendants' claims regarding the constitutionality of the special rebellion court were also dismissed as unfounded. With these procedural hurdles cleared, the rebellion case is expected to resume its second hearing on June 21st, although the possibility of further appeals could still cause delays.

The court's decision to rule on the defendant Kim Yong-hyun's request for a constitutional review of the law was a legitimate exercise of its primary jurisdiction under the Constitution and law.

· Seoul High CourtAddressing the defendants' argument that the judges' previous actions indicated bias.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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