South Korean prosecutors accused President Yoon Suk-yeol of impeaching him due to a martial law decree

South Korean prosecutors on Sunday charged President Yoon Suk-yul with rebellion in connection with his short-term imposition of martial law, a criminal charge that could result in his execution or life in prison if convicted, news reports said.

This is the latest blow for Yoon, who was impeached and arrested due to his Dec. 3 martial law decree that plunged the country into political turmoil. Aside from criminal judicial proceedings, the Constitutional Court is now deliberating whether to formally remove Yoon from his position as president or reinstate him.

South Korean media, including Yonhap News Agency, reported that the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office had charged Yoon with rebellion. Calls to the district attorney’s office and Yoon’s attorney were not returned.

Yoon, a conservative, has denied any wrongdoing, calling the martial law he imposed a legitimate act of governance aimed at raising public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly, which has obstructed his agenda and removed top officials. While declaring martial law, Yoon described the rally as a “den of criminals” and vowed to eliminate North Korea’s “brazen henchmen and anti-state forces.”

After declaring martial law on December 3, Yoon sent troops and police officers into the assembly, but enough lawmakers were still able to enter the assembly chamber to vote unanimously to reject Yoon’s decree, forcing his government to rescind it.

The imposition of martial law, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than 40 years, lasted only six hours. However, it has evoked painful memories of previous dictatorial rules in the 1960s and 1980s when military-backed rulers used martial law and emergency decrees to suppress dissidents.

Watch | Yoon was detained for questioning earlier this month:

The deposed South Korean president was arrested after police stormed his home

South Korean authorities on Wednesday arrested ousted President Yeon Suk-yul and interrogated him in connection with a criminal mutiny investigation. He said he was only cooperating with what he described as an illegal investigation to avoid violence. An estimated 3,000 police officers were deployed to Yoon’s presidential complex, bringing wire cutters and ladders.

South Korea’s constitution gives the president the power to declare martial law to maintain order in times of war and other similar emergencies, but many experts say the country was not in such circumstances when Yoon declared martial law.

Yoon insists that he had no intention of disrupting the assembly’s work, including the vote on his decree, and that sending troops and police forces was intended to maintain order. But military unit commanders sent to the council told council hearings or investigators that Yoon ordered them to withdraw the lawmakers.