Impeached S Korean president charged with insurrection
Ruth Comerford
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been charged with insurrection after he attempted to declare martial law in December.
His ill-fated attempt to impose military rule plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis and he becomes the first sitting president in South Korean history to be charged with a crime.
The indictment comes after a court in Seoul rejected a request to extend Yoon's detention on Saturday, which meant prosecutors had to make a decision on whether to charge or release him before Monday.
"The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally," Han Min-soo, a spokesman from the main opposition Democratic Party told a press conference.
Yoon's legal team criticised the indictment and pledged to expose any "illegalities in the investigation".
"The prosecution has made a grave mistake, reducing itself to being the indictment arm of the CIO, and a tool of political interests," Yoon's lawyers said, referring to the Central Investigation Office for high-ranking officials.
In South Korea, insurrection is punishable by life in prison or death. However the latter is unlikely, given that the country has not carried out executions in decades.
Separately, the Constitutional Court has begun deliberations on whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.
The impeached president has largely refused to co-operate with the criminal investigation over the martial law declaration.
Yoon is set to stand trial along with his former defence minister and senior military commanders, who are accused of helping him plan and carry out the attempt to seize total power.
In an unprecedented televised announcement on 3 December, Yoon said he was invoking martial law to protect the country from "anti-state" forces that sympathised with North Korea.
At the time, the embattled leader was in a deadlock over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and several of his cabinet ministers were under investigation.
The military announced all parliamentary activity was suspended and sought to impose controls on media outlets.
The opposition's Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung urged people to protest at the National Assembly and asked his fellow lawmakers to immediately vote to repeal the order.
Less than two hours after Yoon's declaration, 190 lawmakers who gathered - including some from the president's party - voted unanimously to block it.
Soldiers equipped with rifles were seen entering the parliament building through smashed windows as a dramatic confrontation ensued.
Thousands of civilians gathered in front of the assembly and tried to block the soldiers.
Yoon was was impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on 14 December.
The affair has triggered South Korea's worst political crisis in decades and has polarised the country.
Many of his hard-line supporters have rallied around him. On Friday, tens of thousands gathered to protest, demanding he be released and returned to office.
If Yoon is removed from office, a presidential election would be held within 60 days.
The prosecutors' office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
South Korean president indicted for insurrection over martial law decree
Impeached leader Yoon Suk Yeoul could face years in prison after six-hour imposition which set off political upheaval
Reuters
Sun 26 Jan 2025 11.17 GMT
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South Korea’s prosecutors indicted the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection with his short-lived imposition of martial law on 3 December, the main opposition party said.
The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president, and if convicted, Yoon could face years in prison for his shock martial law decree, which sought to ban political and parliamentary activity and control the media.
His move set off a wave of political upheaval in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a top US ally, with the prime minister also impeached and suspended from power and a number of top military officials indicted for their roles in the alleged insurrection.
The prosecutors’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The indictment was also reported by South Korean media.
Anti-corruption investigators last week recommended charging the jailed Yoon, who was impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on 14 December.
Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol demonstrate in Seoul after he was arrested at his presidential compound.
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A former top prosecutor himself, Yoon has been in solitary confinement since 15 January, when he become the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, after days of defiant, armed standoff between his security detail and arresting officials.
Over the weekend a court twice refused prosecutors’ request to extend his detention while they conducted further investigations, but with the charges they had again requested that he be kept in custody, media reports said.
Yoon’s lawyers had urged the prosecutors to release him immediately from what they called illegal custody.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. It is punishable by life imprisonment or death, although South Korea has not executed anyone in decades.
“The prosecution has decided to indict Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing charges of being a ringleader of insurrection,” the Democratic party spokesperson, Han Min-soo, told a press conference. “The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally.”
Yoon and his lawyers argued at a constitutional court hearing last week in his impeachment trial that he had never intended to fully impose martial law, and meant the measures only as a warning to break political deadlock.
In parallel with his criminal process, the top court will determine whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate his presidential powers, with 180 days to decide.
South Korea’s opposition-led parliament impeached Yoon on 14 December, making him the second conservative president to be impeached in the country.
Yoon rescinded his martial law after about six hours after lawmakers – confronting soldiers in parliament – voted down the decree. Soldiers equipped with rifles, body armour and night-vision equipment were seen entering the parliament building through smashed windows during the dramatic confrontation.
If Yoon were removed from office, a presidential election would be held within 60 days.
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