Seoul, Jan 18 (IANS): South Korean legal representatives of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Saturday that Yoon has decided to attend a court hearing for an arrest warrant against him to explain the legitimacy of his short-lived martial law decree.
Yun Gap-keun, one of Yoon's lawyers, made the notification in a text message sent to reporters.
The lawyer said Yoon made the decision to explain the legitimacy of the martial law declaration and restore his tarnished reputation as well after the botched martial law declaration on December 3.
In the hearing due 2 p.m., Yoon is expected to deny the insurrection charges against him, which is imposed by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).
The vehicle carrying Yoon departed a detention centre for the hearing at around 1:30 p.m. The convoy vehicle is expected to pass by the designated photo area for the press and directly enter the court building.
The anti-corruption agency sought a warrant to formally arrest Yoon with the Seoul Western District Court on Friday, two days after CIO investigators apprehended him at his residence and took him into custody following questioning.
The CIO is currently leading a joint investigation with the police and the military over whether Yoon's martial law declaration amounted to an attempted insurrection.
But Yoon's lawyers have said the CIO does not have the authority to investigate insurrection allegations.
If court officials issue the warrant, Yoon will become the first sitting President in South Korea's constitutional history to be formally arrested.
If rejected, the embattled President will return to the presidential residence and bolster his claims that the ongoing investigations into his martial law decree and impeachment are unfounded.
Yoon shocked the nation by imposing martial law on December 3, plunging South Korea into its worst political turmoil in decades. But the martial law lasted only several hours before lawmakers voted to lift the measure.
His lawyers have said the martial law decree was an act of governance and cannot be subject to a court judgment as it was implemented to overcome a national crisis caused by the Opposition-led impeachments of Cabinet members, gridlock in legislation and unilateral budget reduction.
His presidential powers were suspended after the Opposition-dominated Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14.
Investigators sought an arrest warrant for Yoon on Friday, two days after they apprehended him at his residence and took him to a detention center following questioning.
Since being detained, Yoon has refused to appear for questioning over his martial law bid.
On Wednesday, Yoon's legal team requested the Seoul Central District Court to decide on the legality of the detention warrant for Yoon issued by the Western District Court.
But the central court dismissed the challenge the following day, keeping him in custody.
Despite the ruling, Yoon's legal team is expected to maintain its argument that the CIO has no legal authority to investigate insurrection charges and that the western court does not have proper jurisdiction over the martial law case, Yonhap news agency reported.
As for the evidence tampering and flight risk concerns, the team is expected to argue that investigators have already secured much of the evidence required for their investigations and there is no flight risk for Yoon as he is the sitting President.