Korea's Constitutional Court Hears Impeachment Trial Witnesses

South Korea's Constitutional Court held its eighth formal hearing in the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol on February 13, with three witnesses testifying about whether the president instructed the arrest of National Assembly members and the reasons behind the police control of parliament.

The head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Zhao Taiyong, testified as a witness for the prosecution. He said that President Yoon Suk-yeol would not have directly ordered the NIS to support the arrest without consulting him first, because such matters are not within the jurisdiction of the NIS chief.

Zhao Taiyong also revealed that there was no one present at the meeting with the president and other officials at the Blue House that night who agreed with the declaration of a state of emergency.

The commander of the First Defense Brigade, Zhao Chenghyeon, testified that the former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Lee Jun-yu, had previously issued an order to