Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached president of South Korea, is charged with insurrection and power abuse

Yoon Suk Yeol, the ousted president of South Korea, is being charged with rebellion for declaring martial law for a brief period in December.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), South Korea’s anti-corruption body, has forwarded its case against ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to prosecutors, suggesting that he be charged with mutiny and power abuse. The accusations are related to Yoon’s short-lived and contentious proclamation of martial law on December 3, which parliament quickly reversed.

Yoon has been in custody since January 15 while investigations are ongoing. On December 14, he was impeached and suspended from office. Before formally prosecuting him, prosecutors are anticipated to request a 10-day extension of his incarceration, which is scheduled to expire on January 28. This is the first time a sitting South Korean president has ever been arrested.

According to the CIO, Yoon planned an uprising by trying to impose martial law in order to resolve what he called a political impasse brought on by the opposition. According to military personnel’ testimonies, Yoon allegedly contemplated imposing a second martial law order and planned to arrest politicians. Kim Yong-hyun, Yoon’s defense minister at the time, and a number of senior military and law enforcement officers have already been charged with insurrection.

Yoon has not to comply with CIO investigators, refusing to be summoned and questioned in spite of the grave accusations. Yoon’s lack of cooperation was condemned by CIO Deputy Chief Lee Jae-seung, who said that prosecutors would be more effective if they took over the probe.

Lee stated during a briefing that “the suspect is still uncooperative to this day, not responding to the criminal justice proceedings and refusing our questioning itself, even though he is under serious allegations that he was ringleader of an insurrection.”

Yoon’s legal team has contended that the CIO is not authorized to look into cases of rebellion because the agency’s mission does not include such a clause. Additionally, they have demanded that any criminal actions be postponed until after a separate trial in which the Constitutional Court renders a decision about Yoon’s impeachment.

Yoon has denied claims that he ordered members to be arrested or oversaw emergency budget preparations during the contentious impeachment hearings. His attorneys insist that the suggestion for martial law was not a serious attempt to take power, but rather a warning to end the political impasse.

This stance was supported by former stance Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who testified at the impeachment process and said that the small troop deployment demonstrated no real intention to impose military control. Kim added that Yoon’s anger at the opposition, which he claimed was abusing its legislative majority, was the reason behind the demand for martial law.

Yoon might be charged with insurrection, a crime from which South Korean presidents are not exempt, if he is indicted. Although insurrection is punishable by death in theory, South Korea hasn’t executed anyone in almost 30 years.

The case calls into question the balance of power and accountability in South Korea’s political system and reveals the country’s profound political divisions. The country closely monitors the impeachment trial and criminal probe to determine how its democratic institutions will be impacted by this extraordinary event.