A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk-yeol over his attempt to impose martial law on December 3. Yoon had appeared in a Seoul court on Wednesday for a seven-hour hearing to review the arrest warrant requested by prosecutors, and was then taken to a detention center while he waited for the court’s decision.
Yoon, a conservative, was removed from his position as president by South Korea’s Constitutional Court in April over his martial law attempt, after being accused of overstepping his authority. Parliament had voted to impeach Yoon on December 14, but needed the approval of the Constitutional Court.
The former president is accused of abuse of power, falsifying official documents, and obstruction of official duties, as well as charges related to his attempt at imposing martial law on South Korea, in what prosecutors have labelled an attempted rebellion and an attempt to seize total power and detain his opponents. He denies the charges. If he is found guilty of the charges he currently faces, he may be punished by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
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