Prosecutors Consider Additional Charges Against Former President Yoon Suk-yeol for Abuse of Power
On April 4, the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, leading to his removal from office and subjecting him to criminal proceedings for insurrection charges. With his dismissal, the constitutional privilege of non-prosecution no longer applies to him. Both the prosecution and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (공수처) are reportedly reviewing whether to file charges or conduct further investigations.
According to legal sources, the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25, presided over by Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, will hold the first formal trial for Yoon on April 14, where he faces charges of being the leader of an insurrection. Yoon attended the initial preparatory hearing in February but did not appear for the second one last month. While attendance is not mandatory during preparatory hearings, he must be present for all subsequent formal trials starting on the 14th.
The first trial is expected to include witness testimonies from Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and Foreign Minister Jo Tae-yeol. However, the court indicated during the second preparatory hearing that if either of the witnesses cannot attend, their testimonies may be postponed to April 21, and the prosecution was asked to propose alternative witnesses. Additional trial dates have been set for April 21, April 28, and May 8.
Yoon's legal team has denied all charges during the preparatory hearings, arguing that the initial investigation conducted by the 공수처, which lacks jurisdiction over insurrection cases, renders the prosecution's charges unlawful. They also claimed that the indictment did not clearly specify the charges. The prosecution has requested to summon 38 witnesses, stating they will first question these witnesses before revealing plans for additional evidence.
In addition, the prosecution is reportedly considering additional charges against Yoon for abuse of power related to the 'Emergency Martial Law' declared on December 3. The Special Investigation Unit for Emergency Martial Law, led by Park Se-hyun, head of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office, had previously indicted Yoon on January 26 but did not include abuse of power charges at that time due to the constitutional privilege preventing such charges in insurrection cases. Key figures previously indicted, such as former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, faced abuse of power charges.
The prosecution also believes that further investigation into political broker Myung Tae-kyun is necessary concerning allegations that Yoon's camp received polling results 81 times from Myung's side during the last presidential election, in exchange for granting former lawmaker Kim Young-sun a nomination for a by-election instead of paying for the polling services. A civic group filed a complaint against Yoon and his wife last year for violations of political funding laws, and the prosecution has completed analysis of Myung's 'golden phone' seized in December.
The Seoul High Prosecutors' Office is reviewing an appeal regarding the dismissal of allegations against Kim Geon-hee, Yoon's wife, related to receiving a Dior bag and her involvement in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case. If the High Prosecutors' Office issues a re-investigation order, this case may be reopened.
Additionally, there are several cases against Yoon pending with the 공수처, including the 'fallen Marine' incident, where Yoon allegedly ordered the withholding of investigation records related to the death of Sergeant Cha Soo-geun during disaster recovery efforts. This case has been reported by civic groups and political parties as an abuse of power. Complaints regarding the bribery allegations related to Kim Geon-hee's Dior bag and the Myung case are also under review by the 공수처.
The 공수처 is also investigating the 'complaint solicitation' allegations raised against Yoon when he was the Prosecutor General in 2020. The whistleblower, Cho Sung-eun, has accused Yoon, his wife, former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, and former lawmaker Kim Woong. This case has been assigned to the 공수처's Investigation Division 3. Previously, the 공수처 directly indicted Prosecutor Son Jun-sung, who was convicted in the first trial but had the verdict overturned in the second trial, with the case currently under review by the Supreme Court.
Moreover, the 공수처 has received a complaint from lawmaker Hwang Un-ha regarding Yoon's alleged overreach in directing the prosecution of the Ulsan mayoral election interference case during his tenure as Prosecutor General.
However, it has been reported that the 공수처 will not immediately intensify its investigation into Yoon. They plan to prioritize completing investigations involving military and police personnel related to the Emergency Martial Law before proceeding with Yoon's case. The 공수처 is currently operating under a task force system involving all prosecutors and investigators for the Emergency Martial Law investigation.
