First verdict in impeached ex-president's martial law case set for next month

SEOUL, December 16 (AJP) - Disgraced former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who faces several charges related to his botched martial law debacle, will receive his first verdict next month.

The Seoul Central District Court said on Tuesday it intends to deliver its ruling on January 16 on whether Yoon obstructed the law enforcement by blocking investigators and other officials who attempted to detain him in relation to the debacle. The court cited a law requiring the first ruling to be made within six months of an indictment by independent prosecutors investigating the case.

In response to the court's decision, prosecutors who filed the charge against Yoon in mid-July said they would complete their final arguments for the case by next week or by the end of the month at the latest.

Yoon's legal representatives immediately raised objections, arguing that the ruling should be postponed until the main trial on charges of insurrection and abuse of power concludes. But the court rejected their request, saying that the decision on the charge could be made independently, regardless of the main trial's verdict.

Meanwhile, the insurrection trial is expected to conclude in January, with a verdict likely in February.

* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.

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