A Seoul court has rejected a second request to extend the detention of impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol, putting pressure on prosecutors to quickly indict him.

Mr Yoon was arrested last week over his attempt last year to declare martial law, which ultimately failed.

He is now facing insurrection charges and with his arrest became the first sitting South Korean head of state to be detained in a criminal probe. 

The president’s Dec 3 martial law decree only lasted about six hours before it was voted down by lawmakers, but it still managed to plunge South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades.

The Seoul Central District Court on Saturday turned down a request for a detention extension, prosecutors said in a brief statement.