Former President Yoon Suk Yeol failed to appear in court on Friday for a third hearing of a new trial related to his martial law declaration. 

The Seoul Central District Court began the day’s hearing without the former president, who prosecutors argue obstructed official duties in connection with the Dec. 3 action.

Yoon appeared at the first hearing of the new trial on September 26, but has now skipped his second and third scheduled court dates.

The court said on Friday that Yoon blamed his absence on illness in a submitted statement, but that it had rejected the claim as insufficient. 

It added that forcibly bringing the former president to court was practically impossible and that the trial would proceed without him.