SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, a criminal charge that could incur the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea's first leader to face indictment, has plunged the nation into political turmoil. Facing rebellion charges alongside his detained defense team, Yoon's martial law decree has split the populace.

LONDON -- South Korean prosecutors formally indicted President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday, charging him with insurrection over his brief imposition of martial law in December, according to opposition lawmakers and South Korean media.

The jailed president Yoon Suk Yeol, who had been holed up in his presidential compound for weeks after issuing a martial law decree last month, now faces rebellion charges punishable by the death penalty or life in prison.

South Korean prosecutors charged President Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt last month to place the country under martial law, forcing the impeached leader to remain in detention as they build a case against him.

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been charged with insurrection after he attempted to declare martial law in December. His ill-fated attempt to impose military rule plunged the country into an unprecedented political crisis and he becomes the first sitting president in South Korean history to be charged with a crime.