South Korean prosecutors indicted the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on insurrection charges over his declaration of martial law, a move that plunged the country into political turmoil.

South Korea’s impeached president has denied that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting to reject his martial law decree last month, as he appeared for the first time before the Constitutional Court that will determine his fate.

South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has been formally arrested, days after being apprehended at his presidential compound in Seoul

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted on insurrection charges on Sunday after he briefly declared martial law last month, prosecutors told local media. Why it matters: Yoon is the first sitting president to both be arrested and indicted on criminal charges.

The charges are unprecedented for a South Korean president, and if convicted, Yoon Suk Yeol could face years in prison for his shock martial-law decree, which sought to ban political and parliamentary activity and control the media.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in a Seoul court for his impeachment trial Tuesday, defending his short-lived martial law bid and denying charges that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers away.

South Korea’s impeached president denied that he had ordered the military to drag out lawmakers at the National Assembly to prevent them from voting down his martial law decree last month, as he appeared for the first time at a hearing of the Constitutional Court that is to determine his fate.

South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has been formally arrested, days after being apprehended at his presidential compound in Seoul.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has become the country’s first leader to be indicted, less than two weeks after he was the first to be detained

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been charged with insurrection after he attempted to declare martial law in December. His ill-fated attempt to impose military rule plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis and he becomes the first sitting president in South Korean history to be charged with a crime.