Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok was scheduled to attend as a witness on the 5th at former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's insurrection trial but failed to appear. Former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min also submitted a written statement explaining his absence to the court, saying the preparation period was tight, and failed to appear at the hearing.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Agreement Division 33 (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-gwan) held a continued hearing that day on former Prime Minister Han's case on aiding the ringleader of an insurrection, engaging in critical duties related to insurrection, and perjury.
The examination of witnesses for the former deputy prime minister was scheduled for the morning, but Choi did not appear in court.
The court said, "We tried to contact [the witness] several times but could not reach [him] by phone, and it has been confirmed that the witness summons has not been served."
It added, "If witnesses fail to appear and the conditions for sanctions are met, we will impose sanctions," and "Considering the expedited trial under the special counsel investigating the insurrection case act, we plan to take necessary measures."
The court also said, "We will consider not only imposing fines but also issuing an arrest warrant," and "If procedures such as consent to arrest are required because the person is an incumbent lawmaker, we will proceed accordingly."
On the same day, Lee, the former Minister, was also scheduled for an examination of witnesses at 2 p.m., but did not come to court. The court said, "According to the written statement explaining his absence sent by the former Minister's side, he received the witness summons notice after 5 p.m. yesterday (on the 4th), leaving too little time to prepare," adding, "He also said it was difficult to comply with today's witness summons because another case's evidence examination is scheduled for the 6th."
As the former deputy prime minister failed to appear, the morning session proceeded with documentary evidence review of the Presidential Office's closed-circuit (CC)TV from Dec. 3 last year, when martial law was in effect. Former Prime Minister Han's attorney said, "More Cabinet members were called with the intention of opposing the declaration of martial law to the president, and there was no instruction or involvement in convening them." The special counsel side responded, "Basically, former Prime Minister Han says only to former Minister Choi that he opposed (the declaration of martial law) several times, but no one witnessed it."
As former Deputy Prime Minister Choi and former Minister Lee failed to appear, the court rescheduled other examinations of witnesses. The examination of witnesses for former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun will be held on the 12th, and the examination of witnesses for former People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho will take place on the afternoon of the 17th.