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.

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, a criminal charge that could incur the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and is now in detention, was indicted on charges relating to his declaration of martial law.

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.

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

"The prosecution has decided to indict Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing charges of being a ringleader of insurrection," Democratic Party spokesman Han Min-soo told a press conference, Reuters reported. "The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally.

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 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.

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.