Yoon Suk Yeol’s presence at the court was his first public appearance since becoming South Korea’s first sitting president to be detained over his short-lived declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into political turmoil.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in a Seoul court for his impeachment trial Tuesday, defending his short-lived martial law bid and denying charges that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers away.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended on Tuesday a Constitutional Court hearing of his impeachment trial where he denied ordering military commanders to drag lawmakers out of parliament during his short-lived bid to impose martial law.