President Yoon Suk Yeol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, Seoul, Jan. 23. Yonhap

Indicted over charges of leading an insurrection in December, President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his decision to declare martial law in a meeting with his legal representatives Tuesday.

Seok Dong-hyeon, one of Yoon's lawyers, told reporters that Yoon wondered aloud how his Dec. 3 decision to impose martial law could be considered an act of insurrection when "everything was done within the boundaries of the Constitution."

Seok and other lawyers met with Yoon at the Seoul Detention Center, Tuesday, two days after Yoon became the first sitting South Korean president to be indicted under detention.

Yoon is accused of conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to incite an insurrection, Dec. 3, by declaring an unconstitutional and illegal state of emergency, despite the absence of any signs of war, armed conflict or a comparable national crisis.

Yoon is also alleged to have sent troops to the National Assembly in order to keep lawmakers from voting down the martial law declaration, and planned to arrest key political figures.

According to Seok, Yoon said he exercised his constitutional right to declare martial law to inform the people of the crisis that the nation was facing, with the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) having taken over the National Assembly.

Yoon also noted that he immediately lifted martial law once the Assembly voted down his declaration.

He told his lawyers that his actions could not constitute an act of insurrection because there had not been any bloodshed or casualties, nor had there been any arrest of politicians.

Attorney Seok Dong-hyun, representing President Yoon Suk Yeol, answers reporters' questions in front of the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, Seoul, Jan. 18. Yonhap

Seok said Yoon claimed that he had never intended to maintain martial law for an extended stretch of time because he had not prepared any manual on how to run the administrative and judicial branches in such a state, and because he had fully expected the National Assembly to promptly vote it down.

"He didn't say anything particular about spending the Lunar New Year holiday inside the detention center or about the situation he is in as the sitting president," Seok said. "But I could tell from his looks that a lot of things were going through his mind."

Seok added Yoon voiced his concerns about the future of Korea.

"He said he was worried about many people struggling to make ends meet in these cold conditions," Seok said. "He was also concerned that young people who should be dreaming big dreams may grow frustrated and disenchanted with reality."

Seok noted that first lady Kim Keon Hee has been experiencing health problems of late. Yoon, who hasn't seen his wife since being detained, Jan. 15, was worried about Kim's condition, Seok said.

The DPK attacked Yoon for worrying about the state of the nation when he himself had caused problems.

"He incited an insurrection and shook our constitutional order at its core. He has also destroyed our economy," Cho Seung-rae, the DPK's senior spokesperson, said. "And he has the temerity to say he's worried about the future of the country. This is quite chilling.

"How could someone so concerned about the country deploy military forces to start an insurrection and incite his supporters?" Cho continued. "He has still not yet admitted to his wrongdoing in the face of legal judgments. There seems to be no end to his shamelessness."

On Kim's apparent health issues, Cho said Yoon "should forget about trying to make people feel sympathetic."

"People will only remember Kim and Yoon as a couple tainted with all sorts of corruption allegations," the spokesperson said. "If Yoon is worried about the country at all, he should stop trying to pull tricks to delay the legal process." (Yonhap)