South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his imposition of martial law in December last year.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’s Office accused Yoon of being the “ringleader of an insurrection”.
Political chaos erupted in South Korea after the president imposed martial law deploying special forces to the National Assembly. The opposition had opposed the move and impeached the president. Later he was arrested and the Constitutional Court is separately deliberating whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.
Meanwhile, Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, calling his martial law a legitimate act of governance. Yoon argued that his intention was to raise public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly which obstructed his agenda and impeached top officials.
Yoon vowed to eliminate all anti-state forces while imposing the martial law.
If convicted Yoon could face years in prison.
South Korea witnessed a wave of protests after Yoon imposed martial law in the country on December 3. Hundreds gathered outside the parliament demanding Yoon's oustal.
Yoon was impeached by the parliament and suspended from his duties on December 14 , making him the second conservative president to be impeached in the country.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. It 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 facing charges of being a ringleader of insurrection,” the Democratic party spokesperson, Han Min-soo, told a press conference.
The top court will determine whether to remove Yoon from office or reinstate his presidential powers within 180 days.
If Yoon were removed from office, a presidential election would be held within 60 days.
