Martial law decree: South Korea's Yoon appears in court

South Korea's impeached president denied on Tuesday that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting to reject his martial law decree last month, as he appeared for the first time before the Constitutional Court that will determine his fate.

- Associated Press

SEOUL:

Yoon Suk-yeol's presence at the court was his first public appearance since becoming South Korea's first sitting president to be detained over his short-lived declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into political turmoil.

After abruptly imposing martial law on December 3, Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but enough lawmakers managed to enter to vote unanimously to reject his decree, forcing Yoon's Cabinet to lift the measure early the following morning.