Yoon's trials to occur together

[Anchor]

On January 26, the prosecution indicted President Yoon Suk Yeol with detention, charging him as the mastermind behind an insurrection. This means he will now face both a criminal trial and impeachment proceedings simultaneously.

What potential factors could affect the future progress of the criminal trial and impeachment proceedings? Reporter Choi Yoo-kyung analyzes.

[Report]

President Yoon Suk Yeol has become the respondent in the impeachment trial and the defendant in the criminal trial.

As he has claimed for an investigation without detention to ensure his right to defense, there is a possibility that he may request bail.

[Yoon Gap-geun/Attorney for President Yoon/Jan. 25: "If he is not detained, he can contact his attorneys at any time to discuss and debate the direction of the lawsuit. However, it is not easy to do that while he is currently detained."]

In this case, the court is expected to consider concerns about evidence destruction when deciding whether to grant bail.

Previously, the Seoul Western District Court, which reviewed the detention warrant for President Yoon, issued the warrant citing concerns about evidence destruction.

Instead of requesting bail, President Yoon may also request a suspension of the impeachment trial.

Article 51 of the Constitutional Court Act states, "If a criminal case is ongoing for reasons such as an impeachment trial request, the trial procedure may be suspended."

However, given the uncertainty about when President Yoon's criminal trial will conclude, the likelihood of the Constitutional Court accepting the request for suspension of the trial procedure is low.

[Moon Cheol-ki/KBS Advisory Attorney: "Impeachment brings about a vacuum in governance, and considering the significantly serious nature of the matter compared to other cases, it is unlikely that the impeachment trial will be suspended due to criminal prosecution."]

The prosecution's decision regarding the abuse of power charges, which have not yet been decided due to the sitting president's immunity from prosecution, is also a variable for the upcoming trial.

Meanwhile, President Yoon's legal team has continued to argue that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, which lacks the authority to investigate insurrection charges, has investigated him for power abuse related-crimes, but it excluded the abuse of power charge itself from the indictment.

This is KBS News, Choi Yoo-kyung.