The panel handling the case accusing former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of aiding the ringleaders of insurrection decided to forcibly bring in former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who failed to appear for the examination of witnesses.
The Criminal Agreement Division 33 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-gwan, senior judge) held the eighth court hearing for Han, the former prime minister indicted on charges including aiding the ringleaders of insurrection, on Feb. 12 and stated accordingly.
The court had initially planned to conduct the examination of witnesses for the former Minister Kim on this day. However, the session was scrapped after the former Minister Kim submitted a written statement explaining his absence and failed to appear in court.
The former Minister Kim cited extreme strain from an ongoing criminal trial and accumulated fatigue from long-term detention and successive court appearances.
The panel said it does not constitute a legitimate reason to refuse to appear as a witness and added, it will impose fines of 5 million won and issue a warrant for custody. The time to bring in the former Minister Kim was set for 2 p.m. on the 19th of this month.
In the same trial, an examination of witnesses for former President Yoon Suk-yeol was also scheduled for the afternoon. However, the former President Yoon also submitted a written statement explaining his absence to the court on the 10th.