Prosecutors: "Hard to Accept Court's Denial... Consider Yoon's Indictment Reasonable" (Comprehensive Report 2)

Court Twice Denies Extension of Detention Period, Decision Difficult to Accept
Indictment Totals 100 Pages, Charges Filed After Comprehensive Investigation

The prosecution on the 26th indicted President Yoon Seok-yeol, who is accused of being the ringleader of the ‘12·3 Emergency Martial Law Incident,’ while in custody. The prosecution stated on the day, “We have secured sufficient evidence to prove the charges, so after considering the opinion that detention indictment is appropriate, we instructed to file the indictment.”

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was detained on charges of leading an insurrection, is attending the fourth impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 23rd. Photo by Joint Press Corps

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Special Investigation Headquarters for Emergency Martial Law (Head: Park Se-hyun, Seoul High Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor) announced in the afternoon that they had indicted President Yoon, who is accused of being the ringleader of the rebellion, while in custody. The prosecution said, “Due to the court’s two decisions to refuse extension of detention periods, which were difficult to accept, we were unable to conduct even minimal supplementary investigations such as face-to-face questioning of the defendant. After comprehensively reviewing the evidence materials from accomplice cases investigated so far and evidence materials from cases transferred by the police, we judged that indictment of the defendant is appropriate.”

A Special Investigation Headquarters official explained to reporters on the day, “The indictment is just over 100 pages,” adding, “It is slightly longer than previous indictments.” Previously, the indictment for former Minister Kim was 83 pages, and the indictment for former Commander of the Defense Security Command No Sang-won was 95 pages.

The official added, “As investigations progressed, more facts were revealed, so we added them.” The Special Investigation Headquarters received the case files on President Yoon regarding the charges of ringleader of rebellion and abuse of official authority from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials on the 23rd, and on the 24th, received six cases related to the ringleader of rebellion from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Regarding the exclusion of the abuse of official authority charge, he explained, “While serving as president, criminal prosecution is only possible for rebellion and treason.” He continued, “The prosecution can investigate cases transferred from the police without restrictions. The indictment also includes cases transferred. Since we can act within the limits allowed by law, we will maintain the prosecution according to legal procedures and laws.”

With the prosecution indicting President Yoon while in custody, the trial schedule for President Yoon is expected to accelerate compared to initial expectations. Since there is also the possibility of consolidation with ongoing trials of suspects accused of rebellion, it is anticipated that the first trial result for President Yoon could come out as early as late July, when the first trial detention period expires. President Yoon’s detention status will also be maintained. According to the Criminal Procedure Act, the first trial court can detain the defendant for up to six months.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.