1 of 7 | Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment on insurrection charges Thursday. In this September 26 photo, Yoon attends the first hearing of his second trial on martial law-related charges. File Pool Photo by Yonhap/EPA
A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment for insurrection over his brief martial law declaration, capping months of political turmoil in a ruling broadcast live nationwide.
A three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of attempting to obstruct the functioning of the National Assembly when he declared emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, but stopped short of imposing the death penalty sought by prosecutors.
Several hundred supporters gathered outside the courthouse ahead of the ruling, waving South Korean and U.S. flags and holding banners calling for Yoon’s reinstatement. When the decision was announced, some shouted angrily while others buried their faces in their hands.
“I can’t understand the verdict,” supporter H.J. Kim said. “Declaring martial law is a president’s right. He wanted to save the country.”
Yoon, a 65-year-old former prosecutor who attended the hearing in person, has consistently denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the insurrection charge.
Presiding Judge Ji Gwi-yeon said Yoon ordered troops deployed to the National Assembly with the intent to “obstruct and paralyze” its activities, a key factor in the court’s finding that his actions amounted to insurrection.
“It is difficult to deny that former President Yoon had an ulterior motive: to send troops to the National Assembly, blockade it, arrest key politicians, and thereby obstruct and paralyze the National Assembly’s activities,” the court said in its ruling, adding that he had sent troops “to incite a riot.”
“Martial law has incurred enormous social costs, and it is difficult to find any indication of the defendant’s apology for this,” Ji said.
Yoon declared emergency martial law late on Dec. 3, citing threats from what he called “shameless pro-North Korea anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people.” Lawmakers rushed to the National Assembly in the early hours and voted to overturn the decree, forcing Yoon to rescind it during a subsequent Cabinet meeting.
The episode lasted roughly six hours but triggered months of political upheaval and deepened divisions across South Korea. Yoon was removed from office in April after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld his impeachment.
The court also handed down sentences to several former military and police officials accused of participating in the martial law operation. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of aiding the attempt.
Yoon has a week to appeal, beginning a process that could move through higher courts before the sentence becomes final.
The verdict adds Yoon to a long list of South Korean leaders who have faced criminal punishment after leaving office. Former military ruler Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death in 1996 in connection with a 1979 coup and violent 1980 crackdown on pro-democracy activists, but was later pardoned.
Former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak were imprisoned on corruption convictions before also receiving pardons — a pattern that some said they hoped would continue.
“I believe Yoon is not guilty,” supporter Jung Gook-gun said ahead of the verdict. “But even if he is sentenced, I think some years later he will be freed.”
