Impeached South Korean President Yoon has been charged over his martial law, reports say

South Korean prosecutors filed the indictment on Sunday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol of sedition in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, newspaper reports say, a criminal charge that could lead to death or life in prison if convicted.

This is the latest blow to Yoon, who was recalled and arrested for his December 3 martial law decree which plunged the country into major political turmoil, shaking South Korean politics and financial markets as well as the country’s international image. Separate from the criminal court proceedings, the Constitutional Court is now deciding whether to formally remove Yoon as president or reinstate him.

South Korean media, including the Yonhap news agency, reported that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office charged Yoon with sedition. Calls to the prosecution and Yoon’s lawyers went unanswered.

Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, calling his martial law a legitimate act of governance aimed at raising public awareness of the dangers of a liberal-controlled National Assembly that has obstructed his agenda and impeached top officials. During his state of emergency announcement, Yoon called the assembly a “den of criminals” and vowed to eliminate “shameless North Korean followers and anti-state forces.”

After declaring martial law on December 3, Yoon sent the military and police into the assembly, but enough lawmakers still managed to enter the assembly hall to unanimously vote down Yoon’s decree, forcing his cabinet to rescind it.

The imposition of a state of emergency, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than 40 years, lasted just six hours. However, it brought back painful memories of past dictatorial rules in the 1960s and 1980s when military-backed rulers used states of emergency and martial law decrees to suppress opponents.

South Korea’s constitution gives the president the power to declare a state of emergency to maintain order in times of war and similar emergencies, but many experts say the country was not in such conditions when Yoon declared the state of emergency.

Yoon insists that he had no intention of disrupting the work of the assembly, including the vote on his ordinance, and that the deployment of troops and police was aimed at maintaining order. But commanders of military units sent to the assembly told parliamentary hearings or investigators that Yoon ordered them to extract the lawmakers.

The investigations into Yoon have exacerbated the country’s already severe internal division, with rival protesters regularly holding rallies in central Seoul.

After a local court approved an official arrest warrant to extend Yoon’s detention on January 19, dozens of his supporters stormed the courthouse, destroying windows, doors and other property. They also attacked police officers with bricks, steel pipes and other objects. 17 police officers were injured in the violence, and police said they detained 46 protesters.

Yoon has previously resisted attempts by investigating authorities to question or detain him. He was then arrested on January 15 in a large-scale police operation at his presidential compound.

Yoon’s investigation was led by the Office of Corruption Investigation for Senior Officials, but since being detained Yoon has refused to attend the CIO’s questioning, saying he has no legal authority to investigate allegations of rebellion. The CIO said it could investigate Yoon’s rebellion claim because it was related to his abuse of power and other allegations.

Yoon enjoys presidential immunity from most prosecutions, but that privilege does not apply to charges of sedition or treason.

On Friday, the CIO handed over Yoon’s case to the Seoul prosecutor’s office and asked it to charge him with sedition, abuse of power and obstruction of the National Assembly. Under South Korean law, a leader of a rebellion can face life in prison or the death penalty.

In a statement on Saturday, Yoon’s defense team urged prosecutors to immediately release Yoon and launch an investigation into the CIO.

Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several other military commanders have already been arrested for their role in the martial law decree.