One week after his arrest, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been indicted on insurrection charges.
The impeached president was indicted on Sunday by the country’s prosecutors over his abortive declaration of the marital law.
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CNN reported that Mr Yoon is accused of being the “ringleader of an insurrection.”
In December 2024, Mr Yoon tried to impose martial law. Although overturned after six hours, the move threw the country into chaos.
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The declaration mandated the suspension of civil liberties and the transfer of significant powers to military authorities. It granted military authority over civilian governance, including control over public assemblies and the enforcement of curfews.
This action led to his impeachment and eventual arrest, with operatives from the country’s Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) scaling barricades and barbed wire to take him into custody.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Yoon’s lawyers had tagged the arrest “illegal”, arguing that the CIO, as an anti-corruption agency, had no power to investigate the president’s insurrection allegations.
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However, the opposition Democratic Party’s floor leader, Park Chan-dae, said, “The arrest showed that justice in South Korea is alive.”
“This arrest is the first step toward restoring constitutional order, democracy, and the rule of law,” he said.
In South Korea, insurrection is one of the few crimes for which a president has no immunity.
If Mr Yoon is found guilty, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.
