韓国の尹大統領、弾劾裁判に初めて出席

【ソウルＡＦＰ＝時事】韓国の尹錫悦（ユン・ソンニョル）大統領が２１日、憲法裁判所で開かれた弾劾（だんがい）裁判の弁論に初めて出席した。大統領の弁護団は２０日夜、尹氏が憲法裁判所での弁論に出席すると明らかにしていた。（写真は、韓国果川で、高官犯罪捜査庁〈高捜庁〉のビルに到着する尹錫悦〈ユン・ソンニョル〉大統領）
　韓国は昨年１２月に尹氏が「非常戒厳」を宣布したことをきっかけに政治的混乱に陥っている。非常戒厳は国会での決議案可決を受けてわずか６時間で解除。国会は尹氏をめぐり、弾劾を求める議案を可決して職務をはく奪した。尹氏は、内乱を首謀して逮捕された、韓国史上初の現職大統領となった。
　憲法裁は現在、尹氏に対する弾劾訴追の是非を判断するための弁論を開いている。尹氏は先週開かれた最初の２回の弁論は欠席した。数か月続くとみられる裁判は、尹氏が出廷しなくても続行される。
　憲法裁で不利な判断が示されれば尹氏は罷免され、６０日以内に大統領選が実施される。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/01/21-18:42）

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared at the Constitutional Court for the first time Tuesday, and vowed to cooperate with the judges who will decide whether to remove him from office.
The country was plunged into political chaos by Yoon's December 3 martial law declaration, which lasted just six hours before lawmakers voted it down.
They later impeached him, stripping him of his duties. He also became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested in a criminal probe on insurrection grounds.
Thousands of protesters -- both for and against Yoon -- flocked to the Constitutional Court, which is holding hearings to decide whether to uphold his impeachment.
I will respond to any questions or provide further remarks if necessary, Yoon told the judge.
Yoon was asked during the hearing whether he had instructed top military commanders to drag out lawmakers from parliament to prevent them voting down his martial law decree.
No, he told the judge.
AFP reporters saw Yoon -- who remains South Korea's official head of state -- driven into the building in a blue justice ministry van from the detention centre where he is being held pending a criminal probe on insurrection grounds.
Court spokesperson Cheon Jae-hyun told reporters that Yoon's legal team have requested to call at least 24 individuals as witnesses, including election-related officials.
Yoon and his legal team have sought to justify his attempt to suspend civilian rule as a necessary measure due to election fraud, after the opposition won parliamentary elections by a landslide last year.
According to pool reporters, he appeared in court wearing a suit -- not his standard-issue prison uniform, which he has been required to wear since he was formally arrested Sunday.
Yoon's legal team said he wanted to personally appear to explain the circumstances surrounding the declaration of martial law.
- 'Entirely incomprehensible' -
If the court rules against Yoon, he will lose the presidency and elections will be called within 60 days.
The lawyers prosecuting the case, who were selected by the parliament, slammed the comments made by Yoon and his lawyers as largely contradictory, irrational, and unclear, making them entirely incomprehensible.
If they continue to evade responsibility as they did today, it will only work against them in the impeachment trial and cause even greater disappointment among the public, they added.
Yoon stayed away from the first two hearings last week, but the trial -- which could last months -- will continue even if he is absent.
Yoon has also been refusing to submit to separate questioning by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), the body in charge of the criminal probe into his martial law declaration.
It said it had attempted to compel him to attend but due to the suspect's continued refusal to cooperate they abandoned the efforts.
As Yoon is attending the impeachment trial, questioning him will be difficult on Tuesday, a CIO official told reporters.
- 'Riling public opinion' -
Yoon made his first court appearance on Saturday at a hearing on whether to extend his detention. When it was extended, hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters attacked the court building and scuffled with police officers. Dozens were arrested.
The impeached president's decision to start showing up at the Constitutional Court hearing is more about inflaming his die-hard supporters than helping the judicial process along, legal expert Kim Nam-ju said.
Whether it's the legal representative speaking or Yoon himself speaking it's nearly the same, it's more about riling public opinion, Kim told AFP.
But whatever Yoon's motives, from the perspective of the Constitutional Court judges, hearing directly from the defendant is far more significant, he said.
Yoon's presence will allow the judges to confirm the facts firsthand.
Kim added that Yoon's refusal to engage with the criminal investigation into his martial law will not work in his favour overall, even if he continues showing up at the Constitutional Court.
Refusing to comply with the warrant execution and declining to testify will gradually be considered as factors unfavourable to his case in the impeachment trial, said Kim.
It shows they are not adhering to the legal framework.
Yoon has claimed the criminal probe is illegal and resisted arrest for weeks, vowing to fight to the end.