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.

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in a Seoul court on Thursday for his first trial hearing on charges of insurrection in the country's first criminal prosecution of an incumbent leader.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared before two courts on Thursday. His first stop at the Seoul Central District Court made him the first sitting president — he’s not yet been formally removed from office — to face criminal prosecution.