South Korea: Ousted President Yoon Indicted

South Korea’s deposed president Yoon Suk-yeol (pictured) has been charged with “sedition,” prosecutors have told South Korean media. He thus became the first sitting head of state of the Asian country to be detained as part of a criminal investigation. Yoon was arrested last week. On December 3, 2024, his martial law decree in South Korea lasted only six hours before being overturned by lawmakers, but plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades.

Yesterday (Saturday, January 25), the Seoul Central District Court rejected investigators’ second request to extend the detention period. A judge of the same court ruled that there was “no sufficient reason” to grant the motion, thereby pressuring investigators to “charge Yoon without delay.” And on Sunday, Yoon was charged with “sedition.”

Yoon has so far refused to cooperate with the investigation, and his attorneys argue that investigators lack the authority to continue the probing. The suspended president will also face a separate trial before the Constitutional Court, which, if it upholds his impeachment, will formally remove him from office. The election must be scheduled within 60 days. Ironically, despite his detained status, Yoon is still formally the head of state of South Korea.