Impeached Yoon Suk Yeol appears in two courts over martial law

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made two court appearances on Thursday as he contests insurrection charges and fights an impeachment trial related to his brief imposition of martial law in December. During a preliminary hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, his lawyers argued that the martial law declaration was meant to alert the public to a national crisis rather than to paralyze the government. Simultaneously, he faced the Constitutional Court, which is nearing a decision on his impeachment, with final arguments scheduled for February 25. There, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo testified, supporting the claim that the dominant opposition party had disrupted state affairs, although he reiterated that he and other cabinet members had opposed Yoon's martial law declaration. Yoon's lawyers also requested his release from detention, but the court did not specify when it would rule on the request. The constitutional court's decision on Yoon's impeachment could come in March.