Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to life imprisonment after a court found him guilty of leading an insurrection linked to his 2024 declaration of martial law.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday by Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, who said the former leader’s actions met the legal threshold for insurrection.
“As to defendant Yoon Suk Yeol, the crime of insurrection leadership is established,” Judge Ji said. “We sentence Yoon to life imprisonment.”
The court determined that Yoon’s declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, triggered severe political turmoil and led to the military attempting to take control of parliament.
Judge Ji stated that Yoon’s “declaration of martial law resulted in enormous social costs, and it is difficult to find any indication that the defendant has expressed remorse for that.”
Prior to Thursday’s sentencing, the Seoul Central District Court had already concluded that Yoon played a leading role in the alleged insurrection.
Throughout the trial, the 65-year-old former president rejected accusations that he incited an uprising. He maintained that invoking martial law was within his constitutional authority and argued it was necessary to prevent opposition lawmakers from obstructing government functions.
State prosecutors had sought the death penalty, underscoring the gravity of the charges. However, the court ultimately imposed a life sentence.
Yoon had previously been impeached and removed from office over the controversial martial law declaration, marking one of the most dramatic political crises in South Korea’s recent history.
The life sentence now cements his fall from power, closing a turbulent chapter that saw a sitting president accused of undermining democratic institutions through military intervention.
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