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Former President Yoon Suk-yeol enters the Seoul Central District Court on August 9 to attend a hearing on his arrest warrant. / Source: Joint Press Corps

Former President Yoon Suk-yeol has requested a postponement of his first hearing, scheduled for August 19, in the additional indictment case brought by Special Counsel Cho Eun-seok’s team investigating the alleged insurrection plot.

According to legal sources on August 17, Yoon’s legal team filed a motion with the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 35 on August 14, seeking to reschedule the preparatory hearing. Such hearings, held before the main trial, outline the issues at stake and future procedures, and defendants are not required to attend.

Yoon’s team argued that they had not yet received copies of the relevant investigative records from the special counsel’s office and had not finalized the appointment of defense counsel, making it impossible to prepare adequately. The court has not yet decided whether to grant the postponement.

The special counsel indicted Yoon on July 19 on charges including obstructing his arrest. He is accused of notifying only select cabinet ministers about the December 3 emergency martial law meeting, thereby infringing on other ministers’ constitutional right to participate in cabinet deliberations and decisions.

He also faces allegations of fabricating official documents to make it appear that the lifting of martial law was authorized by the prime minister and defense minister, and then destroying those documents afterward.