On the 25th, Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the National Assembly and the Democratic Party of Korea, who is also a prosecutor of the impeachment, stated in the final argument for the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol, "President Yoon sent the martial law army to the National Assembly and violated the Constitution," adding, "President Yoon, who attempted to destroy democracy, deserves to be dismissed."
On this day, at the 11th hearing held by the Constitutional Court, Representative Jeong, representing the impeachment prosecutors, made a final statement. He noted, "On the night of the 12·3 insurrection, even the moon's reflection on the lake witnessed the martial law," criticizing President Yoon for saying during the 4th argument, "Nothing actually happened (during the martial law)," and describing it as feeling like chasing "the moon's reflection on the lake."
Representative Jeong explained five grounds for the unconstitutionality and illegality of the 12·3 emergency martial law. He said, "Article 77, Clause 1 of the Constitution states that martial law can be declared in accordance with the law during war or similar national emergencies, but December 3 was a calm day, and it was rather President Yoon who disturbed public order."
He stated, "President Yoon violated Article 82 of the Constitution and also breached the procedural legitimacy of declaring martial law." He added, "There was no regular Cabinet meeting discussion process when declaring martial law," and, according to Cabinet members' testimonies, "At that time, there was no declaration of opening or closing the meeting, and there is no record of the meeting."
He continued, "President Yoon intruded on the National Assembly, which had the sole authority to lift the emergency martial law," and, "He attempted to block the National Assembly with armed forces to interfere with its authority and power." He also stated, "He issued a martial law proclamation that completely violated Article 77, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which states that all political activities are prohibited."
He added, "Intruding on the Central Election Management Committee and attempting to arrest and detain key judicial figures all violate the Constitution and laws."
Representative Jeong claimed that President Yoon continued acts that destroyed judicial justice even after declaring martial law. He noted, "By rejecting arrest warrants issued by judges, he showed a disgraceful image of inciting the state relying on some supporters." He further stated, "The conspiracy theory of election fraud is merely an after-the-fact alibi that wasn't even in the martial law declaration," emphasizing, "He is a very dangerous individual who could declare martial law again if reinstated."
He also asked, "If we declare martial law just because we cut less than 1% of the national budget, should we declare martial law every year?" He added, "The right to impeach unconstitutional and illegal public officials is the authority of the National Assembly," and questioned, "Just because I don't like it, do I conspire to commit an unconstitutional insurrection?" concluding, "Can we punch and lynch the Constitution and the people just because we don’t like it?"
Representative Jeong stated, "Now we must restore the peaceful everyday life that the power holder, who was lost in delusions, tried to destroy." He remarked, "President Yoon said nothing happened on the day of the emergency martial law, but many things occurred, and the damage from martial law is immense." He continued, "The people are still unable to sleep due to insurrection-related stress and witnessed terrible situations like the Western District Court riots," adding, "Due to the insurrection committed by President Yoon, the people have come to define each other as enemies and have fallen into a state of psychological civil war."
Representative Jeong noted that the Korean economy has become even more difficult after martial law, introducing a message written by a citizen on his social media (SNS). This citizen, who identified himself as a self-employed individual in manufacturing and wholesale, reportedly wrote, "Since martial law, orders have plummeted, resulting in financial difficulties, having to let go of three employees, and operating with difficulty with four family members," adding, "It seems more serious than during the IMF period."