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.

By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's term in office has been dogged by personal scandals, an unyielding opposition and rifts within his own party, and a rapid fall from grace over his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.

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.

Seoul, South Korea (Reuters ... ordering military commanders to drag lawmakers out of parliament during his short-lived bid to impose martial law. Near the start of the hearing, Yoon said he had worked in public service with “a firm commitment ...

The decision to arrest Yoon triggered unrest at the Seoul Western District Court, where dozens of his supporters destroyed the court’s main door and windows.

A Seoul court issued a warrant Saturday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for an extended period over his botched martial law bid last month in the first such detention of a sitting South Korean president.

Yonhap news agency says South Korean prosecutors have indicted the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his imposition of martial law.

LONDON -- South Korean prosecutors formally indicted President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday, charging him with insurrection over his brief imposition of martial law in December, according to opposition lawmakers and South Korean media.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the country's first sitting head of state to face a criminal trial, defended his failed martial law bid by citing communist threats. His assertion fuelled anti-Chinese misinformation on social media including posts that claimed to show pictures of Chinese undercover agents -- holding flags that bore the letters "CN" -- allegedly infiltrating a pro-Yoon rally.

South Korean protesters are repurposing traditional flower wreaths and K-pop light sticks as political protest tools amid President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial, with both supporters and opponent

The jailed president Yoon Suk Yeol, who had been holed up in his presidential compound for weeks after issuing a martial law decree last month, now faces rebellion charges punishable by the death penalty or life in prison.