Prosecution Indicts President Yoon Seok-yeol on Charges of Leading Rebellion... Martial Law Lifted After 54 Days

For the first time in constitutional history, President Yoon Seok-yeol was indicted while in office after being detained. This occurred 54 days after the December 3 emergency martial law incident was triggered.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is directly questioning former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, who appeared as a witness at the 4th hearing of his impeachment trial held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by the Constitutional Court

The Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law of the Prosecutors' Office (headed by Park Se-hyun, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office) announced on the 26th that President Yoon was arrested and indicted on charges of leading a rebellion.

The prosecution explained, "After comprehensively reviewing the evidence from accomplice cases investigated so far and evidence from cases transferred from the police, we judged that there is sufficient reason to indict the defendant."

After receiving the case from the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office on the 23rd, the prosecution applied to the court for an extension of the detention period but was not granted permission. Consequently, the prosecution decided to indict President Yoon one day before the expiration of the detention period without conducting an in-person interrogation.

President Yoon is accused of inciting a riot with the purpose of disrupting the constitutional order by declaring unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law and deploying armed martial law troops to constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly and the National Election Commission.