South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has appeared in court for a preliminary hearing on allegations he was attempting to orchestrate a rebellion when he briefly imposed martial law in December.
The hearing – held at the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday, where security was heightened as dozens of his supporters rallied nearby – involved discussions around witnesses and other preparations in advance of his criminal trial.
The court will also review a request by Yoon’s lawyers to cancel his arrest and release him from custody.
Police arrested Yoon on January 15 after a weeklong standoff at his residential compound, in the first such action taken against a sitting president in South Korea.
Yoon declared martial law in a television address on December 3, claiming the shock move was to “safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate antistate elements”.
Yoon’s decree brought thousands of angry protesters opposing the move to the streets, before lawmakers in the National Assembly voted it down and lifted the martial law within about six hours of it being declared.
Authorities indicted Yoon on January 26 on charges of staging a rebellion, alleging that his decree was an unlawful attempt to shut down the National Assembly and arrest politicians and election authorities.
While presidents in South Korea enjoy immunity from most criminal prosecutions, an exception is made for charges of rebellion or treason. If convicted, Yoon faces a potential punishment of death or life in prison.
Yoon’s defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, as well as the national police chief Cho Ji-ho and several military commanders have also been arrested and indicted on rebellion, abuse of power and other charges related to the decree.
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