South Korean prosecutors indict President Yoon - Questions raised over decision made without even conducting an interrogation

On the 26th of this month, South Korean police indicted President Yoon Seok-yeol on charges of treason over his declaration of "emergency martial law" last month. This is the first time a sitting president has been indicted in South Korea.
The prosecution said, "After comprehensively examining the evidence of the complicity case and the evidence of the police investigation, we have decided that it is appropriate to indict him."
He is preparing to fight the charges in court, arguing that they do not constitute a crime of rebellion. Yoon declared "emergency martial law" late at night on the 3rd of last month. Emergency martial law is a type of martial law defined by the Korean Constitution. In times of war or other emergency situations,
Martial law is issued by the president when necessary for military purposes or to maintain public order. It was the first time that martial law had been declared since the country's democratization in 1987.
Following the declaration, armed soldiers of the martial law army broke the windows and stormed into the National Diet building. The situation was reminiscent of the military regime era.
Many citizens gathered in front of the building, shouting slogans against martial law and surrounding military vehicles, causing chaos. However, martial law can only be lifted if a majority of members of the National Assembly request it.
The National Assembly had to comply with this, and immediately after the declaration, a plenary session was held in which all members in attendance voted in favor of lifting the state of emergency. Yoon lifted the state of emergency after just six hours.
The declaration of emergency martial law has caused great political and social unrest, and the opposition party has accused Yoon of instigating a civil war.
Article 87 of the country's Criminal Code stipulates that those who start riots with the intent of eliminating state power or upsetting the national constitution will be punished as committing treason. The maximum penalty is the death penalty. Article 84 of the South Korean Constitution stipulates that "The President may not commit any crime, including treason,
The bill stipulates that "a sitting president shall not be subject to criminal prosecution while in office, except for crimes of treason or foreign treason." Although a sitting president enjoys immunity from arrest, the crime of treason is an exception, so it is not possible to arrest and prosecute Yoon.
It is possible. Until now, the independent investigative agency, the High-Ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Agency (PPA), and the joint police investigation headquarters have been investigating the case, and the headquarters arrested Yoon on the 15th of this month.
On the 19th of this month, a court granted an arrest warrant, making Yoon the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested. However, Yoon has continued to refuse to be questioned.
The Public Prosecutor's Office and the prosecution had agreed that each party would interrogate for about 10 days out of the maximum 20-day detention period.
The Supreme Court twice rejected the prosecutors' requests to extend Yoon's detention period, a miscalculation for the prosecution, which had planned to extend Yoon's detention to conduct further investigations and take all possible measures to prosecute him.
In the end, the prosecution quickly indicted Yoon just three days after the Public Prosecutor's Office sent him to the prosecution on the 23rd. Prior to the decision to indict, Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung held a meeting of the heads of high and district prosecutors' offices around the country on the 26th.
According to the Dong-A Ilbo, the meeting lasted about two hours and 50 minutes, and the prosecutors' office said, "Since the court did not approve the extension of the detention, we will prosecute within the detention period.
While some people supported the idea of indicting Yoon, saying that "we need to investigate further," others were cautious, saying that "substantial investigation is necessary." After careful consideration, the prosecution, which indicted Yoon on the 26th, said, "We have eliminated the risk of evidence being destroyed, so we have decided to indict him."
"We decided to indict Yoon before the end of his detention period, taking into consideration the fact that he would not be able to be prosecuted for any crimes that could be committed by the detention period," the ministry said. However, the decision to indict Yoon without sufficient supplementary investigations could lead to difficulties in maintaining the trial.
South Korean media unanimously reported on the indictment of Yoon by the prosecution. The South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh, which has long been critical of the Yoon administration, said in an editorial dated the 27th that "the court will carry out a swift and strict trial.
"The trial must be strong enough to condemn the perpetrators so that such unconstitutional crimes will not be repeated," he said.
The legality of the process and the instructions given by President Yoon at the time of the civil unrest are expected to be the main points of contention." Meanwhile, the Chosun Ilbo said, "Legal experts are saying, 'Is (the indictment) unavoidable?
"There have been a series of criticisms, such as 'Was this the right choice?' and 'Should we go this far?'" The paper said. According to the newspaper, within the prosecution, there are concerns that the prosecution should not indict Yoon before further investigations are underway.
There are voices questioning the fact that the Public Prosecutor's Office has not carried out supplementary investigations into cases that have been investigated by the Public Investigative Agency, and one senior prosecutor told the newspaper, "The Public Prosecutor's Office is not able to carry out supplementary investigations into cases that have been investigated by the Public Investigative Agency, and the only thing that the Public Prosecutor's Office decides is whether to indict or not.
If this continues, it is clear that the prosecutors' office will be reduced to a 'prosecution agency' in the future."