A hearing to determine whether to summarily dismiss the recusal motion filed with the insurrection panel by former Ministry of National Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who has been indicted on charges of involvement in the Dec. 3 emergency martial law case, will be held on the 26th.
According to the legal community on the 25th, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25 (presiding judge Ji Gui-yeon) decided to hold a hearing on the recusal motion at 2 p.m. on the 26th.
After the hearing, the court is expected to decide whether to issue a summary dismissal.
A recusal motion is a procedure under the Criminal Procedure Act in which the prosecution or the defendant requests the exclusion of a judge when there is a concern the judge may conduct an unfair trial.
Ordinarily, a different panel rules on a recusal motion, but if it determines that the purpose is clearly to delay the proceedings, the panel in charge (Criminal Division 25) may issue a summary dismissal on the spot.
If Criminal Division 25 does not issue a summary dismissal, the case will be assigned to another panel within the Central District Court to decide whether to change the bench.
Earlier, at the trial on the 18th on charges of engaging in important duties related to insurrection, Kim, the former Minister, raised an issue that the special counsel team for the insurrection used pseudonyms in the investigation records and asked the court to halt the proceedings.
When the court did not accept this, Kim, the former Minister, filed a motion to recuse the panel.