In his final defense before the Constitutional Court, impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol persisted in justifying his declaration of martial law as necessary to counter North Korean espionage, repeatedly accusing the opposition of acting under Pyongyang’s influence.

Yoon referred to the opposition Democratic Party (DP) 48 times in his 77-page statement to the court on Tuesday, while presenting the DPRK as having orchestrated domestic political turmoil by infiltrating South Korean institutions, including the election commission.

He also leveled the explosive new accusation that the DP followed North Korean directives to politicize the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush tragedy, which