Pres. Yoon faces a trial on charges of leading insurrection

Pres. Yoon faces a trial on charges of leading insurrection. January. 27, 2025 07:12. by Dong-Jun Heo hungry@donga.com.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection with the declaration of emergency martial law on Dec. 3 last year. Consequently, the investigation of the impeached president was concluded in 54 days following the emergency measure taken, with him sent for trial. President Yoon became the country’s first sitting president who would face a criminal trial in constitutional history.

The special investigation headquarters of the prosecution said on Sunday, “We concluded that the indictment is a reasonable action to take based on a comprehensive analysis of evidence collected on cases involving accomplices by the headquarters and investigative materials handed over by the police.” The prosecution, however, only brought charges against President Yoon for leading an insurrection, which is excluded from the scope of the incumbent president's immunity from prosecution, not indicting him on charges of abuse of authority.

Before the indictment announcement, Prosecutor General Sim Woo-jung presided over a national meeting of chief prosecutors on Sunday morning to collect opinions from prosecution leadership about whether to indict President Yoon. Reportedly, there was a heated debate over the nearly three-hour-long meeting on whether to put him on trial within the detention period. Some participants argued that as the court denied extended detention, charges should be filed within the current custody time frame. By contrast, others opposed the idea, saying, “President Yoon’s testimony at the impeachment trial goes against the investigation results. Thus, further inquiry needs to be carried out.” Prosecutor General Sim decided to officially accuse the president after six hours of thoughtful deliberation.

The prosecution was initially supposed to execute a complementary investigation of President Yoon after receiving the case from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). After all, President Yoon was completely uncooperative with the CIO’s probe following his arrest on Jan. 15, making the prosecution end up with a “blank slate” handed over. However, with the court refusing to extend the detention deadline twice, the prosecution intends to put him on trial to maintain the indictment.

President Yoon is reported to file for bail shortly. If the court denies his bail request, he may remain in custody for up to half a year during his trial. President Yoon’s lawyers argued that his detention period ended midnight on Sunday, claiming, “Stop this unlawful detention and release him at once."