SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean anti-corruption officials requested on Thursday that prosecutors indict President Yoon Seok-yul on charges of rebellion and abuse of power over his declaration of short-lived martial law.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) named Yoon, the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested, as the mastermind of the coup, along with its defense minister at the time.
The dramatic events of recent weeks have plunged South Korea into a political crisis. A drag on the economy And expressed concern about the country’s political stability among allies, including the United States.
Yun, who was impeached and suspended from power on Dec. 14, has been in jail since last week pending an investigation into his Dec. 3 attempt to impose martial law — a move that has shocked the nation. Shocked though it was overturned by Parliament within hours.
The CIO was established in 2021 as an independent anti-corruption agency to investigate high-ranking officials, including the president and his family members, and led a joint team comprising the police and the defense ministry. While the prosecutors conduct their own inquiry.
Under the law, the CIO can only investigate the president, not prosecute, and must refer any case to the prosecutors’ office for further action.
The CIO has said Yun’s detention is set to end around January 28, but he expects prosecutors to ask the court to extend it by another 10 days before formally charging the president.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office declined to comment.
Prosecutors have already charged Kim Yong-hyun, Yun’s then-defense minister, with the coup. The heads of the Capital Defense Command, the Defense Counter-Intelligence Command, and the Seoul Police and National Police Commissioner are also among the officials indicted so far.
Since his arrest on January 15, Yoon has refused to speak to CIO investigators and has refused their summons.
CIO Deputy Chief Lee Jae-seong cited the president’s refusal to cooperate, saying it would be more “efficient” for prosecutors to indict Yoon first.
“Despite the fact that the suspect faces serious charges that he was the ringleader of the coup, he has remained uncooperative, unresponsive to criminal justice proceedings and himself our is refusing to be questioned,” Lee told a briefing.
He said investigators had obtained testimony from several military officials about Yun allegedly trying to arrest politicians and others referring to martial law orders. Yoon and his lawyers denied the allegations.
Yoon, a top prosecutor before becoming president, now finds his criminal case in the hands of prosecutors from the same world, though it’s unclear how close their current relationship is.
Yun’s lawyers have repeatedly said the CIO has no authority to handle his case because the law contains a broad list of high-ranking officials and violations it can investigate, but the coup There is no mention of
A Seoul court ruled against Yoon’s lawyers after they tried to make that argument to prevent his arrest.
Yun’s team also said any criminal investigation should be conducted after the Constitutional Court decides whether to remove Yun from office in a separate impeachment trial.
Lawyers reiterated Thursday that they will hold the CIO accountable for its illegal investigation, while prosecutors handling the case have been asked to comply with the law.
In comments to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, Yun denied ordering soldiers to drag lawmakers out of parliament or asking the finance minister to prepare a budget for the emergency legislative body.
Treason, the crime Yoon could be charged with, is one of the few for which the South Korean president is not immune and could technically be sentenced to death. However, South Korea has not executed anyone in nearly 30 years.
Yun attended another Constitutional Court hearing of his impeachment trial on Thursday afternoon.
His lawyers reiterated the president’s earlier argument that he never intended to impose full martial law, but that the moves were meant as a warning to break the political stalemate.
In his first public appearance since attempting suicide in prison last month, former defense minister Kim appeared as a witness at Thursday’s hearing and argued that the small number of troops proved that Yun was not serious about imposing military control.
