BREAKING: South Korea sentences ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol to lnsurrection

BREAKING: South Korea sentences ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol to insurrection

South Korea’s former President Yoon Suk-yeol has been found guilty of masterminding an insurrection over his short-lived imposition of martial law in 2024.

• The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to life in prison after ruling that he was the leader of the December 3, 2024 insurrection.
• It also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon’s martial law decree, including ex-Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year jail term.
• Yoon, 65, has maintained his innocence throughout his court appearances and is likely to appeal the verdict.
• Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Yoon who was impeached and removed from office over his declaration of martial law.

Last month, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for resisting arrest, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full cabinet meeting before declaring martial law.

‘No one is above the law in South Korea,’ says Amnesty International

Amnesty International has called Yoon’s guilty verdict an “important step” towards accountability.
Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said in a statement that the court’s decision proved that “no one is above the law in South Korea, including a former president”.

“This ruling holds Yoon accountable for the unlawful imposition of martial law in December 2024, which lacked proper legal justification under both domestic and international law and placed fundamental rights at risk,” Brooks said.
“South Korea’s independent courts and citizen resistance have shown how the rule of law and strong institutional checks can effectively counter authoritarian practices. This decision must now be followed by comprehensive measures to ensure such violations never happen again.”

Yoon far from first South Korean leader to be facing prison time

Park Geun-hye became South Korea’s first woman president in 2013.
But the daughter of the late authoritarian President Park Chung-hee was accused of receiving or requesting tens of millions of dollars from conglomerates. Additional allegations included sharing classified documents, putting artists critical of her policies on a “blacklist”, and dismissing officials who opposed her.
In December 2016, Park was impeached by parliament. In March 2017, the Constitutional Court confirmed the decision, leading to her indictment and imprisonment.
In 2021, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison but at the end of that year, she was pardoned by her successor, Moon Jae-in.
Yoon was a Seoul prosecutor at the time and played a key role in her dismissal and subsequent imprisonment.
Ex-South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrives at a court in Seoul on August 7, 2017

Timeline: What led to Yoon’s arrest in 2025?

Yoon Suk-yeol, who became president in May 2022, plunged the country into turmoil after he briefly imposed martial law on December 3, 2024.

According to prosecutors, Yoon’s decision to ban political activities and order armed forces to seize the National Assembly amounted to an insurrection. He was forced to withdraw the order six hours later.
Yoon explained that his decision to enact martial law was to issue a “warning” to the opposition, describing the legislature as a “den of criminals” who had blocked his government.
By December 14, Yoon was impeached and, in January, was arrested on the insurrection charge, becoming the first sitting president to receive a criminal charge in the country’s history.

Yoon’s lawyers claim court ruling not backed by evidence

Following the court’s decision, Yoon’s lawyers have said that the ruling had only affirmed a “pre-written script” and claimed that it was not supported by evidence in the case, without elaborating.
His lawyers added that they would be discussing with Yoon whether or not he wanted to appeal the case.

Prosecutor had demanded life sentence for Yoon

A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available.
South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.

Yoon’s sentencing was broadcast live from court
Last week, a court had allowed live broadcast of the sentencing for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, Yonhap news agency reported.
The Seoul Central District Court said it accepted broadcasters’ request to air the verdict. This was the second time Yoon’s sentencing hearing was televised live.
The court permitted live broadcast of Yoon being sentenced to five years in prison last month on charges that included the obstruction of investigators’ attempt to detain him last year.

South Korea’s ex-president Yoon given 5-year jail term in a martial law case

Verdict brings political turmoil to a close … for now

By Jack Barton
Reporting from Seoul

Yoon is just one of several figures but the most prominent.
This verdict is really bringing to a close, at least until the appeal, this period of political turmoil following the martial law that led to months of street protests and led to the national assembly impeaching him.
Yoon was the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, second to be successfully impeached and the third to face trial over insurrection.