Overview

• Yoon attended the Sept. 26 opening hearing of a new case alleging obstruction and abuse of power, his first public court appearance since July.
• He remains in custody after his July 10 rearrest and has refused to attend the separate insurrection trial for 11 straight sessions.
• Prosecutors say the new charges include obstructing his January arrest, violating Cabinet members’ rights during the martial law process, revising the proclamation, ordering deletion of call records, and distributing false statements.
• The court approved recording and online release of the full opening session with anonymization under the special counsel law, but it denied live coverage of his subsequent bail hearing and will state the reasons in court.
• Yoon declined a jury trial; the new indictment carries a potential prison term of more than three years, while the insurrection case still exposes him to life imprisonment or the statutory death penalty.