Anchor: Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been indicted on charges of insurrection. The indictment comes 54 days after his ill-fated decision to impose martial law. He has become the first sitting South Korean president to be indicted while behind bars. 
Kim In-kyung has this report. 

Report: The prosecution has indicted President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges that he masterminded an insurrection. 

Prosecutors announced on Sunday that based on the evidence gained from their investigation of the president's accomplices as well as other evidence secured by the police, it was appropriate to indict him. 

Yoon is accused of conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and other military and police officials to declare an unconstitutional and illegal martial law.

The suspended president is also alleged to have instigated a rebellion by dispatching martial law troops to the National Assembly.

It is the first time in South Korea's history that a sitting president has been indicted. 

After the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials(CIO), which does not have indictment authority over the president, handed over the case on Thursday, the prosecution was expected to conduct an additional investigation of its own until early next month before making a decision on whether to indict Yoon.

However, the prosecution charged the president a day before Yoon's pretrial detention period was set to expire, after a Seoul court twice rejected the prosecution's request to extend his incarceration.

Yoon can be kept behind bars for up to six months while his trial is held, although he can apply for bail. 

The trial is expected to begin at the end of next month, separately from Yoon's impeachment trial which has already begun. 

Yoon's legal team has argued that the president's declaration of martial law cannot be considered a crime of insurrection and that it is time for the judiciary to shed light on the truth. 
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.