South Korean prosecutors said they had impeached President Yoon Suk-Yol on Sunday for leading an uprising during the imposition of his short-lived martial law on December 3.
The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president, and if convicted, Yun could face years in prison for the shocking martial law that banned political and parliamentary activities and sought to control the media. may face.
His move triggered a wave of political upheaval in Asia's fourth-largest economy, with the prime minister impeached and suspended from power and a number of military officials charged with their role in the sedition. .
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The charges were also reported by South Korean media.
Anti-corruption investigators last week recommended charges against the jailed Yun, who was impeached by Congress and suspended from office on December 14.
Yun, a former prosecutor himself, has been held in solitary confinement since January 15, when he became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested.
Over the weekend, the court twice rejected prosecutors' requests to extend his detention pending further investigation, but the charges required him to remain in custody, media reports says.
Yun's lawyers had urged prosecutors to immediately release him from what they called illegal custody.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges against which South Korea's president does not enjoy immunity. South Korea has not executed anyone in decades, but it is punishable by life imprisonment or death.
“The prosecution has decided to indict Yoon Suk-Yeol, who faces charges of being the mastermind of the rebellion,” Democratic Party spokesman Han Min Sung said at a press conference. “The punishment of the leaders of the rebellion will finally begin.”
Yun and his lawyers argued in a Constitutional Court hearing last week that he never intended to impose full martial law.
Alongside his criminal process, the Supreme Court will decide whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate his presidential powers.
South Korea's opposition-led parliament impeached Yoon on December 14, making him the second conservative president to impeach him domestically.
Yoon rescinded his martial law about six hours later after lawmakers standing against soldiers in Congress voted for the order. Soldiers equipped with rifles, body armor and night vision equipment were seen entering the Parliament building through broken windows during the dramatic standoff.
If Yun is removed from office, a presidential election will be held within 60 days.
