President Yoon Suk Yeol and other individuals implicated in his short-lived imposition of martial law failed to attend an afternoon hearing at the National Assembly on Wednesday despite being ordered to do so by a parliamentary committee.

South Korea’s impeached president has denied that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting to reject his martial law decree last month, as he appeared for the first time before the Constitutional Court that will determine his fate.

The former South Korean defence minister charged with insurrection for his role in a short-lived martial law attempt told a court on Thursday that he wanted a broader military deployment but was overruled by President Yoon Suk Yeol.