South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol may soon be charged with insurrection and abuse of power, based on a recommendation investigators submitted on Thursday (Jan 23).
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) in a statement said that the official charges against Yoon are "leading an insurrection and abuse of power". This comes as investigators hand in the results of their 51-day probe into the suspended president's declaration of martial law to prosecutors.
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Insurrection charges
The CIO in a statement said that it "decided to request the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office file charges against the sitting President, Yoon Suk Yeol, in connection with allegations including leading insurrection".
It said that Yoon "conspired with the former Minister of National Defense and military commanders on December 3, 2024" and "declared martial law with the intent to exclude state authority or disrupt the constitutional order, thereby inciting riots".
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The case will now be handed to prosecutors, who have 11 days left to decide whether Yoon will be charged. If they okay the charges, a criminal trial would be launched against the embattled South Korean president.
The prosecutor's office has "complied with the CIO's request for a case transfer," said the investigators.
Abuse of authority?
The CIO in its probe found that suspended President Yoon "abused their authority by compelling police officers from the National Assembly Guard Unit and martial law forces to perform duties beyond their obligations".
He also "obstructed the exercise of lawmakers' rights to demand the lifting of martial law", it added.
Also read | South Korea's Yoon denies ordering military to 'drag out' lawmakers in martial law bid
As per reports, during the night of December 3, when Yoon declared a suspension of civilian rule, he ordered troops to storm the National Assembly and prevent lawmakers from voting down the martial law declaration.
However, Yoon has denied allegations that he instructed military commanders to "drag out" lawmakers from parliament.
(With inputs from agencies)