Former South Korean President Yoon indicted for abuse of power

As political uncertainty looms ahead of a postponed June 3 presidential election, South Korean prosecutors have indicted former leader Yoon Suk-yeol for abuse of authority without arrest, according to the country’s news agency Yonhap.

Yoon, who is currently facing an ongoing trial on insurrection charges brought against him after his brief passage to martial law in December, is now in further legal jeopardy as a result of this latest indictment on Thursday.

Armed soldiers were authorized to enter parliament under the decree, but it only lasted for about six hours as opposition MPs quickly rejected it. Later, protesters retaliated against Yoon for the martial law declaration.

The Constitutional Court, which upheld the impeachment motion in April, removed Yoon, 64, from her all responsibilities and privileges. Soon afterward, he was forced to leave the presidential residence.

He was first identified by the prosecution as the “ringleader of an insurrection,” a charge that is not subject to presidential immunity in January, when he was still president.

Prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday that “we have since proceeded with the]insurrection] trial while conducting additional investigations into the abuse of power allegation.

The new charge also comes a day after Yoon’s private residence in Seoul was raided by investigators as part of a probe into bribery allegations involving his wife Kim Keon-hee and a shaman who are accused of receiving lavish gifts on the behalf of the former first lady.

Yoon could receive life in prison or death if found guilty of the insurrection charge, despite South Korea’s unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.

Yoon was the third South Korean president to be impeached by the parliament and the second to be removed from office.

Favorite candidate in the election

South Korea is scheduled to hold a snap election on June 3 with Yoon out of office.

The front-runner in the presidential election, Lee Jae-myung, was found not guilty of breaking the law by the Supreme Court of South Korea on Thursday, putting doubt on his suitability for the presidency.

After the ruling, Lee claimed that Lee’s decision to overturn his criminal case’s not-guilty verdict was “completely different” from what he had anticipated. Lee added that he would follow the people’s wishes and not follow his political rivals’ wishes.

After winning the primary, Lee was chosen as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, and he has led polls for weeks with a two-digit gap over candidates from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party.