In a significant development, former President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea (ROK) has been indicted on additional charges of “aiding the enemy” and “abuse of power.” The indictment was announced on Monday by Cho Eunsuk, the special counsel leading the investigation into Yoon’s alleged insurrection and other related offenses. The charges stem from actions that reportedly undermined the military interests of the ROK by escalating the risk of armed conflict between the two Koreas, allegedly to create conditions for declaring martial law.
Prosecutor Park Ji-young revealed that compelling evidence was found in a memo written by Yoon’s former counter-intelligence commander in October last year, which suggested efforts to “create an unstable situation or seize an arising opportunity.” Alongside Yoon, a former defense minister and a former counter-intelligence commander were also indicted on similar charges.
Yoon’s political career has been marred by controversy since December last year, when he attempted to subvert civilian rule by deploying armed soldiers to parliament to prevent lawmakers from rejecting his martial law declaration. This move plunged the ROK into a political crisis. Yoon was subsequently apprehended in January, indicted while in detention, and later released in March. However, he was taken into custody again in July.
The constitutional court upheld his impeachment on April 4, officially removing him from office over his failed martial law bid. The latest indictments add to the legal challenges facing the former president, who has yet to issue a public response.