SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday (Jan 26) for being the “ringleader of an insurrection” after his abortive declaration of martial law, ordering the suspended leader to remain in detention.
Yoon plunged the country into political chaos with his Dec 3 bid to suspend civilian rule, a move which lasted just six hours before lawmakers defied armed soldiers in parliament to vote it down.
He was impeached soon after, and earlier this month became the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested.
That came after a weeks-long holdout at his residence where his elite personal security detail resisted attempts to detain him.
Prosecutors said in a statement that they they had “indicted Yoon Suk Yeol with detention today on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection”.
He has been held at the Seoul Detention Center since his arrest, and the formal indictment with detention means he will now be kept behind bars until his trial, which must happen within six months.
The indictment was widely expected after a court twice rejected requests by prosecutors to extend his arrest warrant while their investigation proceeded.
“After a comprehensive review of evidence obtained during investigations (prosecutors) concluded that it was only appropriate to indict the defendant,” they said in a statement.
The need to keep Yoon behind bars was justified by a “continued risk of evidence destruction”, they said.
The specific charge – being the ringleader of an insurrection – is not covered by presidential immunity, they added.
Yoon’s lawyers denied the insurrection accusation and vowed to fight it in court.
“Yoon’s declaration of martial law cannot be recognised as insurrection,” they said in a statement.
“We are convinced that the truth will prevail in a court of law.”
