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.

Yoon Suk Yeol’s presence at the court was his first public appearance since becoming South Korea’s first sitting president to be detained over his short-lived declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into political turmoil.

A Seoul court issued a warrant Saturday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for an extended period over his botched martial law bid last month in the first such detention of a sitting South Korean president.