The special investigation team, led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk, said it filed formal charges against Yoon while he remains in detention, including abuse of power and obstruction of rights.
The charges stem from his brief declaration of emergency martial law on December 3, which sparked nationwide protests and ultimately led to his impeachment.
The indictment alleges Yoon violated cabinet members' deliberation rights, ordered the retroactive drafting of martial law documents, and issued false public statements about the emergency decree.
Prosecutors also accuse him of instructing the deletion of encrypted phone records and obstructing the execution of arrest warrants.
Notably absent from Saturday's charges were allegations of foreign exchange law violations, which remain under active investigation. The special prosecutor's office indicated it would pursue those charges separately as the probe continues.
This marks Yoon's third indictment since the martial law crisis began, following earlier charges by the prosecution's special investigation headquarters for leading an insurrection in January and abuse of power in May after his removal from office.
Yoon began boycotting all criminal justice procedures after an arrest warrant was issued early on July 10 on charges including obstruction of official duties and abuse of power. He skipped a scheduled insurrection trial that morning citing deteriorating health and ignored the prosecution's summons for questioning on July 11.
When Yoon refused to leave his solitary cell at Seoul Detention Center on Monday, the special prosecution team ordered forced extraction. However, detention center officials declined to use physical force against the former president, citing his previous presidential status.
The team's next forced extraction attempt on Tuesday also failed due to the detention center's passive response. Prosecutors subsequently summoned detention center officials to investigate the circumstances of the failed attempts.
On Wednesday, prosecutors visited Seoul Detention Center again to forcibly question Yoon directly, but postponed the attempt when Yoon filed an appeal against his detention.
The court rejected Yoon's detention appeal on Friday, dismissing his legal team's claims about double jeopardy and health conditions, paving way for prosecutors to proceed with forced questioning.
While some observers speculated that the special prosecution team would attempt forced extraction again for direct questioning of Yoon, prosecutors determined that further investigation attempts would be meaningless and opted for early indictment without extending the detention period.
The decision also appears to be based on the judgment that prosecutors secured some statements related to the charges during Yoon's direct remarks at the detention appeal hearing.
Park Ji-young, a deputy to Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk, said the team decided to file charges following internal discussions after the detention appeal rejection.
"We determined that sufficient additional investigation and evidence collection from witnesses and others had been conducted since the arrest warrant was issued, and that extending the detention period would not guarantee effective questioning of former President Yoon," Park said.
He added that the prosecution regrets that related investigation of Yoon could not be conducted after the arrest warrant was issued. "Former President Yoon's behavior during the investigation process will be presented at trial and reflected in sentencing," Park said.
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