The President of South Korea was accused of orchestrating a coup d'état.
The South Korean Prosecutor's Office has formally charged President Yoon Suk Yeol with organizing a coup d'état. He is also accused of planning to arrest National Assembly Speaker Woo Won Shik and other key political figures accordingly.
According to the investigation, Yoon Suk Yeol collaborated with former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun and others to launch the uprising on December 3. Despite the absence of armed conflict or similar national crisis indicators, they planned to declare a state of emergency. Furthermore, the president's allies were supposed to arrest leaders of opposition parties and election observers.
The Seoul Central District Court rejected the Prosecutor's Office's request to extend the detention period twice, so the president should have been released on Monday, January 27. However, due to the charges laid against him, Yoon Suk Yeol will remain in custody. If found guilty of the insurrection, he could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
The South Korean parliament had removed Yoon Suk Yeol from the presidential position due to the military state declared on December 3. The country's Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission issued a warrant for the arrest of the head of state, apprehending him on January 15. The president's insurrection case was handed over to the prosecution on January 23.
