By Hyunsu Yim and Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean prosecutors charged deposed President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday with leading an insurrection with the 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 martial law decree, which sought to ban political and parliamentary activity and control the media .
His decision sparked a wave of political upheaval in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and the United States’ main ally, with the prime minister also removed and suspended from power and a number of senior military officials indicted for their role in the alleged insurrection.
The prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The indictment was also reported by South Korean media.
Anti-corruption investigators last week recommended indicting Yoon, who was imprisoned, impeached by Parliament and suspended from office on December 14.
Himself a former high-ranking prosecutor, Yoon has been in solitary confinement since becoming the first sitting president to be arrested on January 15 after days of provocative armed clashes between his security detail and government officials. ‘arrest.
Over the weekend, a court twice rejected the prosecutor’s request to extend his detention while the investigation was further investigated, but, given the charges against him, again requested his continued detention , the media reported.
Yoon’s lawyers have urged prosecutors to immediately release him from what they call unlawful detention.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. The offense 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 accused of being a leader of the insurrection,” Democratic Party spokesman Han Min-soo said at a news conference. “The punishment of the leader of the insurrection finally begins.”
Yoon and his lawyers argued at a Constitutional Court hearing last week in his impeachment trial that he never intended to fully impose martial law, but that he had only intended these measures as a warning to break the political deadlock.
Alongside its 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 impeached Yoon on Dec. 14, making him the second conservative president to be impeached in the country.
Yoon repealed his martial law about six hours after lawmakers, confronted by soldiers in Parliament, voted against 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 will be held within 60 days.
