In the final arguments of the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol, the president's legal representative stated, "The background for the declaration of martial law is due to the opposition's obstruction of policies and legislative abuses." Although it was not wartime or a state of emergency, President Yoon judged it necessary to declare martial law due to the continued paralysis of government operations by the opposition, considering it a national emergency. He also mentioned the "Trump ruling" by the United States Supreme Court, stating that "the president's actions are not subject to judicial review."
On the 25th, Lee Dong-chan (a lawyer who passed the bar exam in 3 rounds), the legal representative for President Yoon, was the first speaker in the final arguments and said this.
This lawyer noted, "President Yoon promoted the four major reforms in pensions, labor, education, and healthcare, but the opposition abused its majority to obstruct government policies." He added that "the opposition passed self-shield laws to protect Lee Jae-myung and advocated for special investigation laws that hinder investigations into Lee Jae-myung."
This lawyer presented the ruling of the United States Supreme Court from last July as the first piece of evidence in the evidence investigation that took place before the final arguments. On Jan. 6, 2021, a violent incident occurred when Trump’s fervent supporters stormed the Capitol. In connection with this, the United States Special Counsel indicted Trump in August 2023 for attempting to overturn the election results and obstruct the election process. Trump's side stated, "There is presidential immunity as he was the sitting president during the Jan. 6 incident," requesting the dismissal of charges.
In July of last year, the United States Supreme Court accepted Trump's assertion of executive privilege and sent the case back to lower courts. At that time, the Supreme Court stated, "When actions by the president are made within the constitutionally ultimate and exclusive authority, Congress cannot regulate such actions due to structural issues of separation of powers, and the courts cannot review them."
Lee Dong-chan expressed that this ruling was "a significant and timely ruling that addressed the constitutional authority of the president for the first time in U.S. history in court," stating that "the power of the president can sometimes be ultimate and exclusive." He continued, "According to the constitutional structure of separation of powers, the exercise of ultimate and exclusive presidential authority is not subject to review by Congress or the courts." The president's side also referenced this precedent in the response submitted to the Constitutional Court on the 4th of last month.
Kim Gye-ri (legal training institute 42nd class), who participated in the second final argument, responded to the news of the martial law declaration by saying she was "(personally) enlightened." She explained, "I decided to intervene in this case to confirm the misdeeds of the Democratic Party." Kim stated that President Yoon's declaration of a state of emergency was a declaration aimed at informing the public about the situation against the actions of anti-national forces, the Democratic Party's attempts to control the media, and legislative abuses amounting to single-party dictatorship.
Kim added, "North Korean spies have been instructed since Yoon was a presidential candidate to 'concentrate the attack arrows on Yoon Suk-yeol,'" stating that "the Moon Jae-in government incapacitated counter-intelligence and national security investigations by abolishing the National Intelligence Service's counter-espionage investigative authority." She further noted, "We do not know what kind of orders remaining spies in our society are operating under."
Following that, Cha Gi-hwan (17th class) said, "While citizens may easily assume a situation of martial law as wartime or violent situations, 'soft crises' can also occur." He added, "Hybrid warfare by China and North Korea is unfolding, and the impeachment abuse in the National Assembly has incapacitated the executive, judiciary, and Constitutional Court, leading President Yoon to judge this as a 'national emergency' where the government cannot operate normally due to legislative frenzy and reckless budget cuts."
The allegations of electoral fraud that President Yoon's side has continually emphasized as the background for declaring martial law were also mentioned in the final arguments. Attorney Do Tae-woo (41st class) stated, "The only agency that can nationally restrain the omnipotent Election Commission is the national leader, the president." He added, "The Election Commission is in a state where internal checks and self-purification capabilities are extremely weak," and that "neither the judiciary, the legislative branch, nor the executive branch has been able to properly oversee the Election Commission, and its self-purification ability is also in doubt."