South Korea's ousted premier said on Thursday that he had opposed suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law, testifying for the first time at his former boss's impeachment trial about the events of a night that threw the country into turmoil.

Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho said on Thursday he was proud of how his fellow South Koreans had overcome the fallout from impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol contested his arrest on rebellion charges in one court and pleaded to preserve his presidency in the other, both cases related to his brief imposition of martial law.

OUSTED South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyer on Thursday said his bid to impose martial law was aimed at thwarting a “legislative dictatorship” by the opposition-controlled parliament, as the president became the country’s first sitting head of state to stand trial in a criminal case.

South Korean police are formally building a case against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over accusations he obstructed the execution of an arrest warrant, a police spokesperson said on Friday.

I did my best to persuade the president to reconsider, and I was in no way involved in mobilizing the military,' Han Duck-soo tells Constitutional Court during his 1st impeachment hearing - Anadolu Aj

SEOUL: A former lawmaker is facing legal actions after he raised suspicions that President Yoon Suk Yeol was under the influence of alcohol during the imposition of martial law in early December.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is in court for a hearing where his lawyers are contesting his arrest on a criminal charge alleging he was orchestrating a rebellion when he imposed martial law.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared before two courts on Thursday. His first stop at the Seoul Central District Court made him the first sitting president — he’s not yet been formally removed from office — to face criminal prosecution.