South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has denied ordering the military to "drag out" politicians from the country's parliament to prevent them from voting down his declaration of martial law.
Mr Yoon was asked by a judge at the country's Constitutional Court whether he had instructed top commanders "to drag out the politicians gathered in the National Assembly to lift the martial law".
He answered "no", according to a pool report of the court proceedings.
The impeached president vowed to cooperate with the judges who will decide whether to remove him from office as he appeared at the Constitutional Court for the first time.
The country was plunged into political chaos by Mr Yoon's 3 December martial law declaration, which lasted just six hours before politicians voted it down.
They later impeached him, stripping him of his duties. He also became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested in a criminal probe on insurrection grounds.
Thousands of protesters - both for and against Mr Yoon - flocked to the Constitutional Court, which is holding hearings to decide whether to uphold his impeachment.
"I will respond to any questions or provide further remarks if necessary," Mr Yoon told the judge.
Mr Yoon - who remains South Korea's official head of state - was seen being driven into the building in a blue justice ministry van from the detention centre where he is being held pending a criminal probe on insurrection grounds.
Court spokesperson Cheon Jae-hyun said that Mr Yoon's legal team have requested to call "at least 24 individuals" as witnesses, including election-related officials.
The impeached president and his legal team have sought to justify his attempt to suspend civilian rule as a necessary measure due to election fraud, after the opposition won parliamentary elections by a landslide last year.
According to witnesses, he appeared in court wearing a suit instead of his standard-issue prison uniform, which he has been required to wear since he was formally arrested last Sunday.
Mr Yoon's legal team said he wanted to "personally appear to explain the circumstances surrounding the declaration of martial law".
If the court rules against him, he will lose the presidency and elections will be called within 60 days.
The lawyers prosecuting the case, who were selected by the parliament, said before the hearing that "a prompt impeachment trial and removal of the president is the most direct path to restoring the rule of law".
Mr Yoon stayed away from the first two hearings last week, but the trial, which could last months, will continue even if he is absent.
He has also been refusing to submit to separate questioning by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), the body in charge of the criminal probe into his martial law declaration.
It said it had attempted to compel him to attend but due to the "suspect's continued refusal to cooperate" they abandoned the efforts.
As Mr Yoon is attending the impeachment trial, questioning him "will be difficult", a CIO official said.
Riling public opinion
Mr Yoon made his first court appearance on Saturday at a hearing on whether to extend his detention.
When it was extended, hundreds of pro-Yoon protesters attacked the court building and scuffled with police officers. Dozens were arrested.
The impeached president's decision to start showing up at the Constitutional Court hearing is more about inflaming his die-hard supporters than helping the judicial process along, legal expert Kim Nam-ju said.
"Whether it's the legal representative speaking or Yoon himself speaking it's nearly the same, it's more about riling public opinion," Mr Kim told AFP.
He added that Mr Yoon's refusal to engage with the criminal investigation into his martial law will not work in his favour overall, even if he continues showing up at the Constitutional Court.
Mr Yoon has claimed the criminal probe is illegal and resisted arrest for weeks, vowing to "fight to the end".
Although he won the presidential election in 2022, the opposition Democratic Party has a majority in parliament after winning legislative polls last year.
