SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean prosecutors on Sunday charged impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol with insurrection over his brief attempt to force an armed rebellion, a criminal complaint that could carry the death penalty or life in prison if convicted.

It is the latest blow for Yoon, who was subject to impeachment and arrest under the Dec. 3 martial law that plunged the country into political turmoil, rocked its financial markets and tarnished its international image. The Constitutional Court, separate from criminal justice proceedings, is now considering whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.

Yoon has become South Korea's first president, and he was prosecuted while in office. He will be jailed and escorted from detention to a Seoul court for the trial, which is expected to last about six months.

Yoon's defense team confirmed his indictment on rebellion charges, calling it the "worst decision" by prosecutors who they said were trying to make love with political forces who wanted Yoon out.

"Today's indictment of the president will go down in the history of South Korean prosecutors as something regrettable that they cannot remove," Yoon's defense team said in a statement. "We emphasize once again that the president's declaration of martial law will never be rebellious. "

Prosecutors allowed him to be charged with rebellion while carrying out an armed act, local media reported. Repeated calls to the Seoul prosecutor's office went unanswered. Investigating authorities claimed that Yuan's infliction of martial arts constituted rebellion because he staged the riot with the intent of undermining the constitution.

Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but the privilege does not extend to charges of rebellion or treason. Under South Korean law, the leaders of the rebellion could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Conservative Yoon has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, saying his declaration of martial law was a legitimate act of governance aimed at raising public awareness of the dangers of a liberally controlled National Assembly that has hampered his agenda and impeached officials. . In declaring martial law, Yuan called the General Assembly "criminals" and vowed to eliminate "shameless North Korean followers and anti-national forces."

After declaring martial law on December 3, Yoon sent troops and police to the convention, but enough lawmakers still managed to get into a convention hall to force his cabinet to lift it in a unanimous vote.

Martial law was imposed, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than four decades, and lasted only six hours. However, it evokes painful memories of South Korea's authoritarian past from the 1960s to 1980s, when military-backed rulers used martial arts and emergency decrees to suppress opponents.

South Korea's constitution gives the president the power to declare martial law to keep the order in place during wartime and other comparable emergencies, but many experts say the country was not under such circumstances when Yoon declared martial law.

Yoon insisted that he had no intention of disrupting the rally's work, including the vote on his decree, and that troops and police units were deployed to maintain order. But military commanders sent to parliament told parliamentary hearings or investigators that Yoon ordered them to drag out lawmakers to prevent them from overturning his decree.

The investigation into Won has intensified the country's already tense internal divisions, with rival protesters regularly holding rallies in central Seoul.

On January 19, a local court approved a formal arrest warrant to extend Yuan's detention, and dozens of his supporters stormed the court building, destroying windows, doors and other property. They also attacked police officers with bricks, steel pipes and other objects. The violence injured 17 police officers, who said they detained 46 protesters.

Yoon had earlier resisted efforts by investigative authorities to question or detain him. He was then arrested on January 15 in a huge law enforcement operation at his presidential compound.

Yoon leads the investigation into corruption among senior officials, but Yoon has refused to attend CIO inquiry meetings since his detention, saying he has no legal authority to investigate the insurgency allegations. The CIO said it could investigate Yoon's insurrection charges as they relate to his alleged abuse of power and other charges.

The CIO on Friday handed Yoon's case to the Seoul Prosecutor's Office and asked him to be charged with rebellion, abuse of power and obstruction of the National Assembly. Prosecutors reportedly charged Yoon only with insurrection, given that Yoon has presidential immunity from other charges.

Yuan's defense minister, police chief and several other military commanders were arrested on suspicion of rebellion, abuse of power and other charges related to martial law.

If the Constitutional Court rules kick Yoon out of office, national elections must be held within two months to choose his successor. Recent public investigations have revealed that ruling and opposition party candidates are running the show in a possible presidential by-election contest.