By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol attended on Tuesday a Constitutional Court hearing of his impeachment trial where he denied ordering military commanders to drag lawmakers out of parliament during his short-lived bid to impose martial law.

South Korean president Yoon's declaration of martial law not only stress tested South Korea's democracy, it may also contribute to destabilising the fragile US-Japan-South Korea trilateral.

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.

Yoon says special forces soldiers sent to National Assembly on December 3 were not there to disable the legislature.

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 prosecutors on Sunday indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, news reports said, a criminal charge that could put him to death or jail for life if convicted.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted on Sunday over charges of insurrection relating to his short-lived imposition of ma