South Korea's Yoon indicted on insurrection charges, Yonhap says

Sarina Yoo and Soo-Hyang Choi, Bloomberg News on Jan 26, 2025

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South Korean prosecutors charged President Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt last month to place the country under martial law, Yonhap News Agency said, forcing the impeached leader to remain in detention as they build a case against him.

Yoon was indicted on charges of insurrection, Yonhap reported, citing the prosecutors’ office. He’s the first sitting president to be charged while in office, and can be detained for as long as six months while his case is reviewed.

The indictment comes just before Yoon was due to be released from detention early Monday, following the Seoul Central District Court’s second rejection of a request by prosecutors to extend his remand. Senior prosecutors from across the country then held a meeting on Sunday to discuss charges against him, Yonhap said.

Yoon shocked the nation and the world by briefly imposing martial law in early December, plunging South Korea into its worst constitutional crisis in decades. The short-lived decree ultimately led to his impeachment.

The embattled leader had been stonewalling efforts by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to secure answers about his role in declaring martial law, despite his arrest earlier this month. The CIO sent Yoon’s case to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday.

Separately, South Korea’s Constitutional Court has six months to decide whether to permanently remove Yoon from office. If the court upholds Yoon’s impeachment, it would trigger a presidential election within 60 days.

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