South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol appeared in court for the first time in his impeachment trial and denied ordering the arrest of lawmakers during an attempt to impose martial law.

Parliament voted last month and last week to impeach Yoon Constitutional Court begins trial Decide whether to permanently remove him from office.

Yin also faces a separate criminal investigation into whether he led the rebellion. He has been detained since last week.

On Tuesday, Yoon was transported by van from the detention center where he was held to the Constitutional Court under tight security.

Police set up human walls and set up riot barricades to prevent hundreds of his supporters who had gathered nearby from getting too close. Violence broke out over the weekend as dozens of Yin supporters clashed with law enforcement officers, Break into another courthouse.

Yoon was asked on Tuesday whether he ordered military commanders to “drag” lawmakers out of parliament the night martial law was declared to prevent them from overturning his order.

He replied: “No.”

Military commanders earlier claimed Yin gave such an order on December 3, after lawmakers scaled fences and broke through barricades to enter the parliament building and vote down Yin’s martial law order.

“I am a person who has a strong belief in liberal democracy,” Yoon said in his opening remarks on Tuesday.

“The Constitutional Court exists to uphold the constitution and I ask you to thoroughly examine all aspects of this case,” he told the judges.

During the hearing, which lasted nearly two hours, Yin and his lawyers argued that martial law was “just a formality and not meant to be enforced.”

Yoon cited threats from “anti-national forces” and North Korea when declaring martial law, but it soon became apparent that his actions were motivated not by external threats but by his own domestic political troubles.

Lawyers chosen by Congress to prosecute the case accused Yoon and his lawyers of making “largely contradictory, irrational and unclear” statements.

“If they continue to evade responsibility as they did today, it will only reflect poorly on them in the impeachment trial and cause greater public frustration,” prosecutors told reporters after the hearing.

Outside the court, his supporters grew more agitated and aggressive, demanding Yoon’s immediate release and reinstatement.

The men were forced to keep a distance from the court due to tight security. Some waved a symbolic combination of South Korean and American flags, and some wore Magga-style baseball caps emblazoned with the slogan “Make Korea Free Again,” echoing the campaign slogan used by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Some of their slogans included calls for the execution of Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, and the investigator in charge of Yoon’s criminal case.

Some supporters told the BBC they believed Yin’s martial law was to protect the country’s democracy.

They accuse the opposition parties of being pro-China and pro-North Korea, and of wanting to turn South Korea into a communist country.

“This is a conflict between those who pursue communism and those who pursue democracy,” said businessman Wongeun Seong, 49, who joined the protest on his way back from a lunch meeting.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyunHe reportedly recommended martial law to Yoon, who will testify at the next hearing on Thursday.

If at least six of the eight judges of the Constitutional Court vote in favor of impeachment, Yoon will be removed from office. A presidential election must then be held within 60 days.

South Korea has been in political chaos since December 3. Despite the cold winter, thousands of protesters and Yin supporters took to the streets on multiple occasions.

The crisis has battered the country’s economy, with the South Korean won weakening and global credit rating agencies warning of weakening consumer and business confidence.

Additional reporting by Hosu Lee in Seoul