Hyunsu Yim and Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of leading a rebellion with his short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 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 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 and a top US ally, with the prime minister also removed and suspended from power and a number of top military officials indicted for their roles in the alleged mutiny.
The prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. South Korean media also reported on the indictment.
Anti-corruption investigators last week recommended indicting the jailer, who was obstructed by parliament and suspended from his duties on December 14.
A former top prosecutor himself, Yoon has been in solitary confinement since becoming the first sitting president to be arrested on Jan. 15 after a day of defiant, armed standoff between his security detail and arresting officials.
Over the weekend, the court twice rejected prosecutors’ request to extend his detention while they conducted further investigations, but with the charges they again asked to keep him in custody, according to media reports.
Yoon’s lawyers have urged prosecutors to immediately release him from what they call illegal detention.
Sedition is one of the few criminal charges from which the South Korean president is not immune. It is punishable by life imprisonment or death, although South Korea has not executed anyone in decades.
“The prosecutor’s office has decided to indict Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing charges of being the leader of the establishment,” Democratic Party spokesman Han Min-Soo said at a news conference. “The punishment of the leaders in the institution now begins finally.”
Yoon and his lawyers argued at a Constitutional Court hearing last week at his trial that he never intended to fully impose martial law, but only meant the measures as a warning to break the political deadlock.
In parallel with his criminal proceedings, the top court will determine whether to remove Yoon from office or restore his presidential powers, with 180 days to decide.
South Korea’s opposition-led parliament was dissolved on December 14, making him the second conservative president to be impeached in the country.
Yoon lifted his martial law after about six hours after lawmakers, facing soldiers in parliament, voted in the decree.
Soldiers equipped with rifles, body armor and night vision equipment were seen entering the parliament building through broken windows during the dramatic clash.
If Yoon is removed from office, a presidential election would be held within 60 days.
