The appeals trial for former President Yoon Seok-yeol regarding the obstruction of his arrest and the infringement of the rights of government councilors started on the 4th at the Seoul High Court's special martial law department, with expectations of a much more intensive and swift process compared to regular criminal cases. This is due to the implementation of the Special Act on Crimes of Insurrection, which mandates that cases prosecuted by the special prosecutor should conclude the appeals process within three months of the first instance ruling, suggesting that a decision could be reached by May.

During the first hearing this afternoon, Yoon appeared in the defendant's seat wearing a dark blue suit with a name tag displaying his inmate number. When asked for his name by the presiding judge, he briefly responded, “I am Yoon Seok-yeol.” In this initial court session, after hearing the appeals' reasoning from both sides, Yoon was given the opportunity to state his position, during which he actively interjected, asserting his viewpoints against the proceedings. He fully denied the charges related to obstructing his arrest, arguing that it was unreasonable for his security team to allow someone to enter a secured area without a search warrant.

In rebuttal, the special prosecutor's team stated that Yoon's security staff hindered the execution of the arrest warrant by setting up barriers and conducting patrols armed with machine guns, amounting to abuse of power and forcing civil servants to perform duties they were not obligated to undertake. In defense, Yoon's camp contended that all actions were legal based on a priority given to presidential security, citing both the insurrection investigation by the Public Official Ethics Committee and the court's issuance of the arrest warrant as justification for their stance against the proceedings, highlighting a complex interplay of legal interpretations at the center of this high-profile case.