Seoul, Dec 27 || South Korea's prosecutors on Friday indicted former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun under detention on charges of insurrection over his alleged role in the short-lived imposition of martial law this month.
The prosecution's special investigation team indicted Kim on charges of abuse of power and playing an "integral" role in an insurrection, marking the first indictment in the case on President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched declaration of martial law on December 3.
Prosecutors believe Kim recommended Yoon declare martial law, and led the deployment of troops to the National Assembly and the National Election Commission's offices during martial law, news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, South Korea's Constitutional Court said it would swiftly proceed with President Yoon's impeachment trial as it wrapped up the case's first hearing, with the next hearing on the trial set for January 3.
The court made the announcement during the preparatory hearing for the trial on the validity of Yoon's impeachment by the National Assembly this month over his failed imposition of martial law on December 3, news agency reported.
"The case on the President's impeachment is more important than any other case," Justice Cheong Hyung-sik, one of the judges for the preparatory proceedings, said, noting the court first deals with cases that are "most urgent."