South Korean prosecutors have indicted President Yoon Sak-Yol on charges of leading a rebellion after briefly imposing martial law last month, according to opposition parties and several South Korean media reports. did.
Yoon, a conservative, enjoys presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but the privilege does not extend to allegations of sedition or treason. Under South Korean law, rebel leaders can face life in prison or the death penalty.
“The prosecution has decided to indict Yoon Sook Yol, who faces charges of being the mastermind of the rebellion,” Democratic Party spokesman Han Min Soe said at a press conference. “The punishment of the leaders of the rebellion will finally begin.”
The move, announced Sunday, made Yoon the first Korean president of South Korea, according to the Washington Post.
Yoon became South Korea's second conservative president to be impeached when the opposition-led parliament voted to suspend him from office on December 14.
South Korean president impeached after weeks of martial law chaos detained
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Sak Yol attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial for the short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea on January 23, 2025. (Jeon Heon Kyun/Pool Photo via AP)
He was arrested earlier this month on December 3, 2024, with a martial law order plunging Asia's fourth-largest economy and a key US ally into political turmoil. Yun has adamantly denied any wrongdoing and has called his martial law an act of legitimate governance, designed to raise public awareness of the dangers of a liberal-dominated parliament, and to deviate from his agenda. Interrupted each top official.
In declaring martial law, Yun called Congress a “den of criminals” and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean followers and anti-national forces.”
He sent troops and police to parliament, but enough lawmakers still entered the assembly room to vote unanimously on Yun's order, forcing the cabinet to lift it.
Although Yun rescinded the order just six hours later, the imposition of martial law was the first in South Korea in more than 40 years and evoked painful memories of past authoritarian rule from the 1960s to the 1980s. Ta.
Yun had resisted efforts by investigating authorities to question or detain him. After several days of standing between his security detail and authorities, Yun was arrested on January 15 in a large-scale law enforcement operation at the presidential complex, becoming the first South Korean president to be arrested. Ta. Yun, a former prosecutor himself, has been in solitary confinement ever since, according to Reuters.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Sook Yeol attend a rally to protest his impeachment near the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, January 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-Joon)
South Korea's impeached president avoids arrest attempt after hours of standstill
After a district court approved a formal arrest warrant to extend Yun's detention on January 19, dozens of his supporters stormed the court building, smashing windows, doors and other structures, according to the Associated Press. destroyed property. They also attacked police officers with bricks, steel pipes and other objects. The violence left 17 police officers injured and police said they detained 46 protesters.
Separate from the judicial case, the Constitutional Court is currently deliberating whether to formally remove Yun as president or reinstate him.
Yoon's primary investigation was the Office of the Inspector General Corruption Investigation, but since his detention, Yoon has refused to appear for questioning by the CIO, saying he has no legal authority to investigate allegations of insurrection. The CIO says it can investigate Yoon's allegations of rebellion.
Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Sook Yeol attend a rally to protest his impeachment in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-Joon)
The CIO handed Yoon's case over to the Seoul Prosecutor's Office on Friday, asking it to indict him on sedition, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
In a statement Saturday, Yoon's defense team urged prosecutors to immediately release Yoon and launch an investigation into the CIO.
South Korean media, including Yonghap News Agency, reported on Sunday that the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office had indicted Yoon on charges of sedition.
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Yun's defense minister, police chief, and several other military commanders have already been arrested for their role in martial law.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
