President Yoon Suk Yeol’s defense team has urged the Constitutional Court to handle Yoon’s impeachment trial carefully. 

Choi Geo-hun, a lawyer on the defense team, asked at Yoon’s fifth hearing Tuesday that the court proceed with the trial in a fair and dignified manner in accordance with its status. 

Choi cited the U.S. case, pointing out that the Senate has defeated four attempts to remove presidents after the House of Representatives voted to impeach them, arguing that the National Assembly’s decision to impeach Yoon is highly unusual. 

The lawyer said the prosecution has misread objective facts and that there is a discrepancy between the prosecution’s arraignments for Yoon and former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun concerning how many times Yoon talked with former Capital Defense Commander Lee Jin-woo over the phone during the martial law incident. 

Choi said the legal representatives of the National Assembly in the impeachment trial are making claims that contradict those objective facts.

Choi also asked the court to hold one hearing a week instead of two, saying Yoon’s criminal trial will begin soon.