ANKARA

South Korea's former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday attended the first hearing of a criminal case that accuses him of leading an insurrection following the imposition of short-lived martial law by him in the country in December.

Yoon arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in a black security vehicle and entered via the underground parking in order to avoid public contact, Yonhap News reported.

Donned in a navy suit, the former president, who was removed by the country's Constitutional Court less than two weeks ago, seated in the defendant's seat as the maiden hearing got underway.

Photography and filming were not allowed under a previous court order.

Yoon faces charges of leading an insurrection through his brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3 that saw the deployment of troops to the National Assembly in an alleged attempt to stop lawmakers from voting down the declaration.

He was impeached by the National Assembly days later.

During Monday's hearing, the court performed an identity check on Yoon minutes before prosecutors started to present their charges.

Two military officers will also be questioned as witnesses during the hearing.

If convicted, Yoon could face a life sentence or the death penalty.

However, Yoon denied any wrongdoing.

"It goes against legal principles to build an insurrection case based on an indictment that looks like a printout of an incident that lasted only a few hours and was lifted immediately in a nonviolent manner upon accepting the National Assembly's demand to lift it," Yoon told the court, referring to his failed bid to impose martial which was lifted within six hours on the intervening night of Dec. 3 and 4.