South Korean prosecutors on Sunday charged President Yoon Suk Yeol with rebellion in connection with his imposition of martial law abbreviation, a criminal charge that could incur the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.
This is the latest blow for Yoon, who was charged and arrested during his Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into political turmoil, rattled its financial markets and damaged its international image. Separate from the criminal court proceedings, the Constitutional Court is now deliberating whether to formally remove Yoon as president or reinstate him.
Yoon has become the first South Korean president to be impeached while in office. He will remain jailed and escorted from a detention center to a Seoul court for hearings in the trial, which is expected to last about six months.
Yoon's defense team upheld his indictment on a charge of rebellion, calling it “the worst decision” by prosecutors who are not trying to rally political forces that want Yoon out.
“The president's current indictment will remain an embarrassment in the history of South Korean prosecutors that cannot be erased,” Yoon's defense team said in a statement. “We emphasize that a president's declaration of martial law can never amount to rebellion.”
Prosecutors 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. Investigative authorities have alleged that Yoon's imposition of martial law amounted to rebellion, because he organized riots with the purpose of undermining the constitution.
Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but the privilege does not extend to accusations of rebellion or treason. By law in South Korea, the leader of a rebellion can face life in prison or capital punishment.
Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, calling his declaration of martial law a legitimate act of government intended to raise public awareness about the danger of the Liberal Controlled National Assembly, which obstructed his agenda and advocated for top officials. . During his martial law announcement, Yoon called the Assembly “a den of criminals” and promised to eliminate “shameless followers of North Korea 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 one Assembly chamber to vote for Yoon's decree unanimously, forcing his cabinet to lift it.
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The imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than four decades, lasted just six hours. However, it evoked painful memories of past dictatorial rule in South Korea in the 1960s to 1980s, when military-backed rulers used martial laws and emergency decrees to suppress opponents.
South Korea's Constitution gives the President the power to declare martial law to maintain order in times of war 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 Assembly's work, including its floor vote on his decree, and that the deployment of troops and police forces was to maintain order. But commanders of military units sent to the assembly have told assembly audiences or investigators that Yoon ordered them to drag down lawmakers who prevented them from revoking his decree.
The investigations into Yoon have intensified the country's already serious internal division, with rival protesters regularly staging rallies 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. They also attacked police officers with bricks, steel pipes and other objects. The violence left 17 police officers injured, and police said they detained 46 protesters.
Yoon previously resisted investigative authorities' efforts to question or detain him. He was then detained on January 15 in a large law enforcement operation at his presidential complex.
Yoon's investigation was the Corruption Investigation Bureau for high-ranking officials, but Yoon has refused to attend CIO question sessions since she was detained, saying she has no legal authority to investigate rebellion allegations. The CIO has said it may investigate Yoon's rebellion charge because it is related to his alleged abuse of power and other allegations.
The CIO handed over Yoon's case to the Seoul Prosecutor's Office on Friday and asked it to indict him on charges of rebellion, abuse of power and obstruction of the National Assembly. Prosecutors reportedly charged Yoon only with rebellion, considering 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, a national election to choose his successor must be held within two months. Recent public polls show that government and opposition party candidates are racing neck and neck in a possible presidential by-election race.
& Copy 2025 The Canadian Press