By Hyunsu Yim, Josh Smith
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean prosecutors on Sunday charged accused President Yoon Suk Yeol with leading an insurrection with his short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3, Yoon’s lawyers and the main opposition party said.
Yoon’s lawyers criticized the charges as the prosecution’s “worst decision,” while the main opposition party welcomed the decision.
The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president and, if convicted, Yoon faces years in prison over his shocking martial law decree that sought to ban political and parliamentary activities and control the media.
His move triggered a wave of political unrest in Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key U.S. ally. The prime minister was also impeached and suspended from power and a number of senior military officials were charged over their roles in the alleged uprising.
“The president’s declaration of a state of martial law emergency was a desperate appeal to the public over a national crisis caused by the opposition spiraling out of control,” Yoon’s lawyers said in a statement.
Prosecutors did not immediately respond to requests for comment. South Korean media also reported on the charges.
Anti-corruption investigators last week recommended charges be filed against the detained Yoon, who was impeached by Parliament on December 14 and suspended from his duties.
Yoon, himself a former top prosecutor, has been in solitary confinement since he became the first sitting president to be arrested on Jan. 15 after days of defiant, armed confrontation between his security detail and arresting officers.
Over the weekend, a court twice rejected prosecutors’ request to extend his detention while they conducted further investigations. However, because of the charges, they again called for him to remain in custody, media reports said.
The riot is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president has no immunity. It is punishable by life imprisonment or death, although South Korea has not executed anyone in decades.
“The prosecution has decided to file charges against Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces charges of being a riot leader,” Democratic Party spokesman Han Min-soo said at a news conference. “The punishment of the leader of the uprising finally begins.”
Yoon and his lawyers argued at a Constitutional Court hearing last week as part of his impeachment trial that he never intended to fully enforce martial law but meant the measures only as a warning to break a political deadlock.
In parallel with the criminal proceedings, the Supreme Court will decide whether to remove Yoon from office or restore his powers as president. It has 180 days to decide.
South Korea’s opposition-led parliament impeached Yoon on December 14, making him the second conservative president in the country to be impeached.
Yoon revoked his martial law declaration within about six hours after lawmakers voted against the decree in a confrontation with soldiers in parliament.
During the dramatic confrontation, soldiers with rifles, body armor and night vision goggles were seen entering the parliament building through smashed windows.
If Yoon is removed from office, there will be a presidential election within 60 days.
