South Korea’s Constitutional Court to Hear Yoon Challenge to Special Insurrection Trial Law

The Constitutional Court will formally hear a petition filed by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s legal team challenging the law that provides the basis for a special appellate panel in his case on charges of leading an insurrection. 

According to legal officials on Tuesday, the court sent Yoon’s constitutional complaint on the Act on Special Cases Concerning Criminal Procedure for crimes including insurrection, foreign aggression and rebellion to a full hearing the previous day.

The court first uses a three-justice panel to determine whether a petition meets legal requirements. If it finds no procedural defects, the case is referred to the full bench of nine justices for review.

Yoon’s team filed the petition on March 31. His lawyers argued that provisions such as forming a dedicated panel, live broadcasting of trials and excluding de-identification measures impose procedures that differ sharply from ordinary criminal trials and infringe on the rights to a fair trial, equality and one’s portrait rights.

The law, pushed through the National Assembly by the Democratic Party in December and effective in January, requires two dedicated panels each at the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court to handle insurrection, foreign aggression and rebellion cases deemed nationally significant, as well as related matters. 

After a meeting of all judges, the Seoul High Court designated its Criminal Division 1 and Criminal Division 12 as the dedicated panels through a random draw. Yoon’s appeal will be heard by Criminal Division 12. In the first trial, Yoon was sentenced to life in prison.

A separate constitutional complaint filed by Yoon’s side challenging provisions in a special prosecutor law, including clauses on the scope of investigations and the appointment process, also passed preliminary screening Monday and was referred for a full hearing.