On the 13th, acting Constitutional Court Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae blocked President Yoon Suk-yeol from directly questioning National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong. During this process, President Yoon asked, "Is it stipulated that way?" and there were exchanges, including protests from the president's legal representatives.
On this day, the impeachment trial of President Yoon involved questioning the National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong. Cho was called as a witness at the request of President Yoon's side.
The president's legal representatives asked Cho, "Do you agree that the statements made by former National Intelligence Service First Deputy Director Hong Jang-won, who allegedly wrote the arrest team memo, are false?" To this, Cho replied, "There are mixed facts that I do not know, making it difficult to say whether I agree or not," prompting the president's legal representatives to ask the court, "Can the respondent (President Yoon) question him directly?"
However, acting Chief Justice Moon said, "(The president) should let the representative question him."
In response, President Yoon asked directly, "Is it stipulated that I cannot ask directly?" The president's legal representatives followed up with, "On what basis is this?" Acting Chief Justice Moon stated, "That is the result of the deliberation," to which the representatives raised their voices, demanding, "Please provide legal grounds."
In response, Acting Chief Justice Moon said, "The legal ground is the authority to conduct litigation," adding, "There is a concern that it could lead to an unfair trial based on the results of the deliberation." He continued, "The respondent's status as the highest national leader means he could exert influence over the witnesses under him, so it was unanimously decided to conduct questioning through a representative rather than directly."
As the dispute between the representatives and Acting Chief Justice Moon heated up, President Yoon cautioned lawyer Kim Gye-ri, who was seated next to him. He then nodded knowingly toward Acting Chief Justice Moon, saying, "I understand. Thank you," bringing the dispute to a close.
Meanwhile, on this day, the president's legal representatives raised concerns that the Constitutional Court was progressing the trial too quickly before the witness questioning. They stated, "The Constitutional Court rejected the witness request for Prime Minister Han Duck-soo" and expressed that, "The Constitutional Court is acting as if it has already concluded and set a timing for the verdict, continuing swift proceedings and illegal, unfair hearings." They warned, "If the current proceedings continue, the legal representatives will have no choice but to make a serious decision."