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Prosecutors file additional abuse of power charge against ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol

입력 2025.05.02 16:51

Yoo Sun-hee
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Former President Yoon Suk-yeol greets supporters upon arriving at his residence in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on April 11. By reporter Jeong Hyo-jin

Prosecutors have filed an additional charge of abuse of power against former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was already indicted on charges of leading a rebellion.

The Prosecutor's Special Investigation Headquarters for the Martial Law Declaration (headed by Seoul Chief Prosecutor Park Se-hyun) said on May 1, “We have indicted former President Yoon without detention on the charge of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.”

Yoon is accused of imposing illegal martial law on December 3 of last year, instructing the military and police to carry out actions beyond their lawful duties. These included the blockade of the National Assembly, obstruction of a vote demanding the lifting of martial law, organizing arrest squads to target politicians, and deploying forces to the National Election Commission without search and seizure warrants.

Earlier, in January this year, the Special Investigation Headquarters received the case from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which had charged Yoon with leading a rebellion and abuse of authority. However, the initial indictment excluded the abuse of authority charge, citing the constitutional protection from criminal prosecution granted to a sitting president. At that time, prosecutors moved forward only with the rebellion charge.

Since Yoon was impeached and removed from office on April 4, thereby losing his immunity, prosecutors proceeded to file the additional abuse of power charge. They judged that no further investigation was necessary because the facts related to the abuse of authority were closely tied to the previously indicted rebellion case. A prosecutor said, “The defendant’s position has already been made clear through the impeachment trial, criminal proceedings, and public statements, so there is no obstacle to filing this charge.”

As a result, Yoon now faces two separate criminal trials. Prosecutors have requested the Seoul Central District Court, which is currently handling the rebellion case, to merge the new abuse of power charge into the ongoing trial.

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Despite filing the new charge, the prosecution did not seek to re-detain Yoon. An official from the Special Investigation Headquarters explained, “According to Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Act, re-detention is legally prohibited.” This article states that “a person previously arrested and released by the prosecution or police cannot be detained again for the same offense unless new and significant evidence emerges.” Since Yoon has already been released, and the new charge is based on the same core facts, re-arrest is not legally permitted.

The Special Investigation Headquarters said, “We will continue to thoroughly investigate the allegations surrounding Yoon’s case and ensure a robust prosecution of the defendant and other involved parties.” It added that the current investigative structure would remain in place as the probe into the rebellion case proceeds.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.