S Korean president indicted as ‘ringleader of an insurrection’

SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday for being the “ringleader of an insurrection” after his abortive declaration of martial law, ordering the suspended leader to remain in detention.

Yoon plunged the country into political chaos with his December 3 bid to suspend civilian rule, a move which lasted just six hours before lawmakers defied armed soldiers in parliament to vote it down.

He was impeached soon after, and this month became the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested.

That came after a weeks-long hold out at his residence where his elite personal security detail resisted attempts to detain him.

Prosecutors said in a statement they had “indicted Yoon Suk Yeol with detention today on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection”.

He has been held at the Seoul Detention Centre since his arrest, and the formal indictment with detention means he will now be kept behind bars until his trial, which must happen within six months.

The indictment was widely expected after a court twice rejected requests by prosecutors to extend his arrest warrant while their investigation proceeded.

“After a comprehensive review of evidence obtained during investigations (prosecutors) concluded that it was only appropriate to indict the defendant,” they said in a statement.

The need to keep Yoon behind bars was justified by a “continued risk of evidence destruction”, they said.