On the 1st, the prosecution additionally indicted former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of abuse of power related to the state of emergency. The prosecution had previously indicted Yoon, who was then president, on charges of rebellion leader without the application of non-prosecution privilege on January 26.
On this day, the Special Investigation Headquarters on the Emergency State of the prosecution, led by Deputy Minister Park Se-hyun, announced that Yoon was indicted on charges of abuse of power without detention. A prosecution official noted, "After indicting former President Yoon on charges of rebellion leader, we continued the maintenance of the indictment and conducted a supplementary investigation on the charges of abuse of power, leading to the additional indictment."
Abuse of power charges can be applied when a public official abuses their authority to force others to perform duties they are not obligated to do or interferes with the exercise of another's rights. The prosecution is reportedly viewing that former President Yoon's instructions to military personnel, cabinet members, and the Commissioner of the Korean National Police Agency regarding legislative control and the arrest of politicians constitute abuse of power.
Earlier, on January 26, the prosecution indicted former President Yoon only on charges of rebellion leader. This was because, at that time, he was president and could only be indicted for rebellion and treason. However, after the Constitutional Court's decision to dismiss former President Yoon on April 4, it became possible to indict him also for charges beyond rebellion and treason.