Yoon was accused of insurrection over the military effort

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was charged with insurrection after he tried to declare the law in December.

His ill-fated attempt to impose military rule plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis and he became the first sitting president in Korean history to be impeached.

The indictment came after a Seoul court denied Yoon’s request to extend his detention on Saturday, which meant prosecutors had to make a decision on whether to charge or release him. us before Monday.

“The punishment of the leader of the uprising now begins finally,” Han Min-soo, spokesman for the main opposition Democratic Party told a news conference.

Yoon’s legal team criticized the indictment and pledged to expose any “illegalities in the investigation”.

“The prosecution made a serious mistake, reducing itself to an indictment of the CIO and an instrument of political gain,” Yoon’s lawyers said, referring to the central investigation office for officials high level.

In South Korea, uprising is punishable by life in prison or death. However, the latter is unlikely, given that the country has not carried out executions in decades.

Separately, the Constitutional Court has begun discussions on whether to officially dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.

The impeached president has refused to cooperate with Criminal investigation through the Declaration of Laws.

Yoon is set to stand trial along with his former defense minister and senior military commander, who are accused of helping him plan and execute his attempt to seize total power.

In an unprecedented televised announcement on December 3, Yoon said he was pleading for martial law To protect the country from “anti-state” forces sympathetic to North Korea.

At the time, the embattled leader was deadlocked over a budget bill, dogged by corruption scandals and several of his cabinet ministers under investigation.

The military declared all parliamentary activities had been suspended and sought to impose controls on the media.

Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-Myung called on people to protest at the National Assembly and asked his fellow lawmakers to vote immediately to repeal the order.

Less than two hours after Yoon’s announcement, the assembled 190 lawmakers – including some from the President’s party – voted unanimously to block it.

Soldiers armed with rifles were seen entering the parliament building through smashed windows as a dramatic confrontation ensued.

Thousands of civilians gathered before the conference and tried to block the soldiers.

Yoon was was impeached by parliament and suspended from his duties on December 14.

The incident sparked South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades and has polarized the country.

Many of his die-hard supporters rallied around him. On Friday, tens of thousands of people gathered to protest, demanding he be released and returned to office.

If Yoon is removed from office, a presidential election will be held within 60 days.

The prosecutors’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.