Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was indicted yesterday on additional criminal charges related to his ill-fated imposition of martial law, about three months after he was formally thrown out of office.
Yoon’s additional indictments mean he would remain in jail for up to six months as he faces a trial at the Seoul Central District Court on his Dec. 3 last year declaration of martial law that plunged South Korea into huge political turmoil.
Yoon was sent back to prison last week after the Seoul court approved his arrest warrant requested by a team of investigators headed by independent counsel Cho Eun-suk.
Photo: Reuters
Cho’s team indicted Yoon on abuse of power that obstructed the rights of some of his Cabinet members.
The charge was imposed because Yoon summoned only select Cabinet members to approve his emergency martial law when South Korean law requires approval of all Cabinet members for such a measure, Park Ji-young, a senior investigator at Cho’s team, told a briefing.
Park said Yoon was also charged with fabricating an official document in an attempt to satisfy a formal requirement for a martial law declaration before he eventually destroyed it.
After declaring martial law, Yoon sent troops and police officers to the opposition-controlled National Assembly, but enough lawmakers managed to enter the assembly chamber and voted down his decree, forcing his Cabinet to lift it.
Yoon was later impeached by the assembly, with some of his ruling party lawmakers voting to suspend his presidential powers.
Yoon said that his decree was a desperate attempt to draw public support for his fight against the “wickedness” of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which had obstructed his agenda, impeached top officials and slashed the government’s budget bill. He earlier called the National Assembly “a den of criminals” and “anti-state forces.”
In January, state prosecutors arrested and indicted him on rebellion, a grave charge that would incur the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted.
However, in March, Yoon was released from prison after a judge at the Seoul District Court canceled his arrest to allow him to stand trial without being held in custody.
In April, the South Korean Constitutional Court formally dismissed Yoon as president, prompting a snap election to choose his successor. After winning that election, new President Lee Jae-myung, a former Democratic Party leader, approved legislation to launch independent investigations to uncover fuller details of Yoon’s martial law declaration and delve into other criminal allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon-hee, and administration.
Lee named Cho an independent counsel to lead an investigation into Yoon’s martial law decree.
In May, state prosecutors indicted Yoon on charges of abusing power and forcing soldiers and police officers to try to seal the assembly and election offices, acts that are not part of their duties.
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