South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Accused of Rebellion Over Military Emergency

SEAToday.com, Seoul - The Supreme Prosecutors' Office of South Korea on Sunday (1/26) officially charged President Yoon Suk Yeol with leading a rebellion after imposing military emergency last month.

With this charge, Yoon, who was arrested on January 19, becomes the first sitting president of South Korea to be charged while in office and held in detention.

This legal action was taken just one day before Yoon's detention period was set to end.

The High Ranking Officials Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which led the investigation into President Yoon, handed the case over to the prosecutors last week, as the agency does not have the authority to indict a sitting president.

On Sunday morning, senior prosecutors gathered to discuss the next steps. However, they have not yet had the opportunity to interrogate Yoon directly.

The prosecuting team handling the case said that they had reviewed the available evidence. After a thorough review, they decided that charging Yoon was the appropriate course of action.

Yoon is accused of conspiring with then-defense minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to incite rebellion by declaring a military emergency. He is also alleged to have deployed military forces to the parliament to prevent a vote that could overturn the military emergency decree.

Prosecutors plan to interrogate Yoon directly if his detention is extended.

However, the Seoul court on Saturday rejected the prosecutors' request to extend Yoon's detention. This is the second time the request has been denied.

According to South Korean law, a suspect must be released if not formally charged during the detention period.