South Korean prosecutors charged President Yoon Suk Yeol for his martial law – National

South Korean prosecutors on Sunday charged President Yoon Suk Yeol with rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, a criminal charge that could carry the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.

This is the latest blow to Yoon, who was arrested and detained over his Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into political turmoil, rocked its financial markets and hurt his image. international Separate from the criminal court proceedings, the Constitutional Court is now deliberating whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.

Yoon became the first South Korean president to be impeached while in office. He will remain incarcerated and will be escorted from a detention facility to a Seoul court for hearings in the trial, which is expected to last about six months.

Yoon’s defense team confirmed his indictment on a charge of rebellion, calling it “the worst decision” by prosecutors who say they are trying to curry favor with political forces who want Yoon out.

“Today’s indictment of the president will remain as a shame in the history of South Korean prosecutors that they cannot erase,” Yoon’s defense team said in a statement. “We insist once again that the president’s declaration of martial law can never be a rebellion.”

Prosecutors have indicted Yoon on charges that he led a rebellion when he imposed martial law, according to local media. Repeated calls to prosecutors’ offices in Seoul went unanswered. Investigating authorities claimed that Yoon’s imposition of martial law was tantamount to rebellion, because he staged riots with the aim of undermining the constitution.

Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but the privilege does not extend to allegations of rebellion or treason. By law in South Korea, the leader of a rebellion can face a life sentence or the death penalty.

1:54
South Korean police arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol

Yoon, a conservative, has strongly denied any wrongdoing, calling his declaration of martial law a legitimate government act aimed at raising public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly, which has obstructed his agenda and impeached him. senior officials. During his martial law announcement, Yoon called the assembly “a den of criminals” and vowed to eliminate “North Korea’s shameless followers and anti-state forces.”

After declaring martial law on December 3, Yoon sent troops and police to the assembly, but enough lawmakers still managed to enter an assembly chamber to vote Yoon’s decree unanimously, forcing his Cabinet to raise

Get the latest National news

For news that impacts Canada and the world, sign up for breaking news alerts sent directly to you as they happen.

The imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than four decades, lasted just six hours. However, it raised painful memories of South Korea’s past dictatorial rules in the 1960s-80s, when military-backed rulers used martial law and emergency decrees to suppress opponents.

South Korea’s constitution gives the president the power to declare martial law to maintain order during wartime and other comparable states of emergency, but many experts say the country was not under such conditions when Yoon declared martial law.

Yoon insists that he had no intention of disrupting the work of the assembly, including his floor vote on his decree and that the deployment of troops and police forces was intended to maintain order. But commanders of military units sent to the assembly told assembly hearings or investigators that Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to prevent them from overturning his decree.

The investigations into Yoon have intensified the country’s already serious internal division, with rival protesters regularly staging demonstrations in central Seoul.

After a local court on January 19 approved a formal arrest warrant to extend Yoon’s detention, dozens of his supporters stormed the court building, destroying windows, doors and other property. He also attacked the policemen with bricks, steel pipes and other objects. The violence left 17 police officers injured, and police said they arrested 46 protesters.

Yoon has previously resisted efforts by investigative authorities to question or arrest him. He was later arrested on January 15 in a major law enforcement operation at his presidential compound.

Leading the investigation into Yoon was the High-Ranking Officials Corruption Investigation Bureau, but Yoon has refused to attend the CIO’s interrogation sessions since he was arrested, saying he would not has no legal authority to investigate allegations of rebellion. The IOC said it can investigate Yoon’s rebellion allegation because it is related to his alleged abuse of power and other allegations.

The IOC handed over Yoon’s case to Seoul’s prosecutors’ office on Friday and asked them to indict him on charges of rebellion, abuse of power and obstruction of the National Assembly. Prosecutors charged Yoon only with rebellion, considering that Yoon had presidential immunity from other charges.

Yoon’s defense minister, police chief and several other military commanders have already been arrested for alleged rebellion, abuse of power and other charges related to the martial law decree.

If the Constitutional Court rules to remove Yoon from office, the national election to choose his successor must be held in two months. Recent public opinion polls show that the candidates of the ruling and opposition parties are neck and neck in a possible race for the presidential election.

© 2025 The Canadian Press