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From his jail cell, Mr. Yoon has vowed to fight to regain office.<\/p>\n
A majority of South Koreans approved of his impeachment and consider him guilty of insurrection, according to public opinion polls. But Mr. Yoon\u2019s die-hard supporters have called his impeachment \u201cfraud.\u201d Some of them shocked the country when they vandalized a courthouse in Seoul after one of its judges approved a warrant to arrest him on Jan. 19. Nearly 60 people were arrested in connection with that unrest.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said that Mr. Yoon committed insurrection during the short-lived imposition of marital law when, they said, he banned all political activities and ordered military commanders to break the Assembly\u2019s doors down \u201cwith axes\u201d or \u201cby shooting, if necessary\u201d and \u201cdrag out\u201d lawmakers. They said Mr. Yoon sent the troops there to seize the Assembly and detain political leaders.<\/p>\n
The nation watched the live-streamed scenes of special forces troops armed with assault rifles storming the Assembly as lawmakers were gathering there to vote against martial law. But Mr. Yoon has rejected the charge of insurrection, saying that he never intended to neutralize the Parliament or arrest political leaders. The troops were there to \u201ckeep order,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Yoon\u2019s indictment, although not a surprise, came sooner than expected.<\/p>\n
State prosecutors have been investigating the former defense minister and generals. The country\u2019s Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials took on the insurrection case against Mr. Yoon, but by law, only prosecutors can indict him.<\/p>\n
Mr. Yoon has refused to cooperate with the inquiry; he and his lawyers have insisted that the four-year-old office has no right to investigate him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n