[Editorial] Yoon proves himself a coward and a idiot in courtroom

Deposed former President Yoon Suk-yeol takes the witness stand within the trial of his former prime minister, Han Duck-soo, on prices of revolt on the Seoul Central District Court docket on Nov. 19, 2025. (courtesy of the Seoul Central District Court docket/Yonhap)

For days on finish, disgraced former President Yoon Suk-yeol has crammed the general public with anger and dismay every time he has taken the stand in his revolt trial and the trials of his alleged accomplices. In courtroom, Yoon has proven himself to be an inveterate coward, constantly denying that his declaration of martial regulation on Dec. 3 final yr was an unconstitutional and unlawful act, and trying responsible his subordinates. It’s horrifying to suppose that such an individual was as soon as the president of our nation.

Throughout his trial on prices of main an revolt, held on the Seoul Central District Court docket on Thursday, Yoon cross-examined Hong Jang-won, the previous first deputy director of the Nationwide Intelligence Service. On the trial, Yoon asserted that he didn’t order the arrest of key politicians on Dec. 3. Hong is a key witness who revealed that he acquired a name from Yoon instructing him to “Spherical all of them up” and an inventory of goal politicians from former Protection Counterintelligence Command chief Yeo In-hyeong. 

Through the trial, Yoon said, “I solely instructed the NIS to help the Protection Counterintelligence Command, which has experience in counterespionage investigations,” implying he meant that Hong ought to solely arrest spies. 

At this, Hong retorted, “However Lee Jae Myung, Woo Gained-shik, and Han Dong-hoon aren’t anti-state organizations or spies, are they?” 

Yoon additionally questioned whether or not he, understanding full nicely that court-issued warrants are required for location monitoring, would have ordered the Protection Counterintelligence Command chief to arrest politicians. Hong replied, “Then did Yeo try and make the arrests independently?” asking if Yoon was making an attempt to shift the blame onto his subordinate. Yoon’s try to assert that he hadn’t personally ordered the politicians’ arrests solely made him seem like a idiot in courtroom.   

On Wednesday, when he appeared as a witness at former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s trial on prices of aiding an revolt, Yoon testified that it was former Protection Minister Kim Yong-hyun who had deliberate to ship army forces to polling company Flower and media shops on the day of the tried coup, although he tried to dissuade Kim. 

Yoon had initially refused to testify, citing his ongoing prison trial, however this was his response when questioned whether or not he had ordered the ability and water cuts at media shops. He said that the courts ought to take his assertion “into reference,” as soon as once more shifting duty onto his subordinates. 

Yoon was additionally questioned about his telephone name with lawmaker Choo Kyung-ho after declaring martial regulation. Responding to the query of whether or not he had merely apologized to Choo on the telephone for not informing him of his revolt plans, Yoon replied, “Effectively, at the moment [. . .] I didn’t have something specifically to do.” To listen to him admit so plainly that he sat idly after plunging the nation into utter chaos little doubt left many speechless. 

The previous president additionally revealed his restricted understanding of diplomacy. In courtroom, Yoon said that in November 2024, he attended the APEC summit and G20 summit in Peru, solely to search out quite a few “so-called leftist populist authorities leaders” in attendance who had been “invited in giant numbers though the international locations weren’t even members” of the worldwide boards. He added that this made him resolve to delegate such gatherings to the prime minister from then on, in order that he may “deal with vital diplomacy.” 

Not solely is Yoon’s division of diplomatic companions into “leftist governments” and “vital” nations narrow-minded and harmful, however additionally it is astonishing {that a} former president would brazenly specific such views. 

Earlier, in courtroom, he additionally mentioned to former chief of the Military Particular Warfare Command, Kwak Jong-geun, “Didn’t we begin passing round soju and soju-beer bombs as quickly as we sat down?” to painting the gathering with Kwak and different army leaders as an event the place dialogue of political points wouldn’t have been held. In an try and refute statements unfavorable to himself, he basically confessed that heavy ingesting was routine throughout his presidency.

Yoon asserts that he declared martial regulation to warn the general public in regards to the tyranny of the opposition occasion. He has by no means acknowledged that it was an unconstitutional and unlawful act, nor proven any willingness to take duty. He repeatedly failed to look in courtroom, refusing to cooperate. The Korean individuals are affected by having to witness such a shame of a former president. 

It’s only proper that Yoon receives the chilly judgment of the regulation. In any case, this revolt chief plunged South Korea’s democracy, individuals’s day by day lives, the nationwide financial system, and worldwide status into spoil whereas solely searching for his personal security and not using a shred of regret.

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