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. The impeached, jailed president, who had been holed up in his presidential compound for weeks after issuing a shocking martial law decree last month,

South Korean prosecutors charged President Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt last month to place the country under martial law, forcing the impeached leader to remain in detention as they build a case against him.

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.

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.

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted for his martial law declaration that plunged the country into political turmoil, with prosecutors accusing him of being a "ringleader of insurrection".