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.

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 Korea's ousted premier said 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.