South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has been charged with insurrection

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.

The indictment comes after a court in Seoul rejected a request to extend Yoon's detention on Saturday, which meant prosecutors had to make a decision on whether to charge or release him before Monday.

"The punishment of the ringleader of insurrection now begins finally," Han Min-soo, a spokesman from the main opposition Democratic Party told a press conference.