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.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in a Seoul court for his impeachment trial Tuesday, defending his short-lived martial law bid and denying charges that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers away.