All levels of courts nationwide will enter a two-week recess during the summer vacation season. As a result, the trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of insurrection, among other major cases, will also be temporarily suspended.
According to the legal community on the 27th, most of the courts across the country, including the largest court, the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court, will have a summer recess from the 28th until the 8th of next month.
The court recess system, introduced in 2006, aims to allow court officials and parties involved in lawsuits to have sufficient rest during the hot season and vacation period. Generally, courts nationwide operate recess periods in line with the schedules of the Seoul High and District Courts.
During this period, most civil, family, and administrative trials, as well as non-custodial criminal hearings, will not take place, except for urgent or serious cases. However, if the court deems it necessary, hearings may proceed.
The trials for insurrection that were being held once or twice a week at the Seoul Central District Court will temporarily pause. The trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of being the mastermind of insurrection will resume on August 11, after the recess. The trials for charges related to insurrection against Police Chief Jo Gi-ho and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, among other former military personnel, will also commence on the 13th and 14th of next month, respectively.
The special investigation team for insurrection has indicted former President Yoon on charges of abuse of power and violation of the Presidential Records Act, with the first hearing preparation date set for August 19. Accordingly, former President Yoon will respond to two trials, including the previously indicted insurrection case, starting from after the recess. The case against former Minister Kim, who was additionally indicted for obstructing official duties and instructing evidence destruction, will also resume on August 11.
Meanwhile, excluding President Lee Jae-myung, the trial related to the 'Daejang-dong, Wirye, Seongnam FC, and Baekhyeon-dong suspicions' will proceed only for Jeong Jin-sang, the former head of the Democratic Party of Korea’s policy coordination office, starting from August 12, every Tuesday after the recess.
The second preparation date for the bribery case against former President Moon Jae-in, which had its first hearing preparation date last month, will be held on September 9. The appeals hearing preparation date for Jeong Ui-yong, the former head of the National Security Office, and others related to the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen, which had a suspended sentence in the first trial, will be held on September 24.