Former South Korean President Sentenced To Life Over Martial Law Attempt

COLOMBO (News 1st); Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of leading an insurrection during his declaration of martial law in December 2024.

The ruling, delivered by Seoul Central District Court judge Jee Kui-youn, was lighter than the death penalty that prosecutors sought at the trial’s final hearing in January.

Jee said in the verdict that Yoon was guilty of leading an insurrection and committed acts to subvert the country’s constitutional order.

The sentence follows a separate ruling on Jan. 16, when Yoon was given a five-year prison term for attempting to obstruct his arrest after he was impeached and suspended from office.

Other senior officials have been sentenced over the failed martial law bid. Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison, while former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min received a seven-year sentence.

Yoon was the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested in an operation involving over 3,000 police personnel that involved a standoff with presidential security agents.

During the final hearing, special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team said Yoon declared martial law “with the purpose of remaining in power for a long time by seizing the judiciary and legislature,” according to South Korean media reports.

Yoon reportedly maintained his innocence, arguing the declaration was within his constitutional authority and was intended to “safeguard freedom and sovereignty.”

He imposed South Korea’s first instance of martial law in 44 years during a late-night address on Dec. 3, claiming that the then-opposition Democratic Party of Korea was engaging in “anti-state activities” and colluding with “North Korean communists.”

Troops were deployed to the country’s National Assembly, while soldiers and police clashed with protesters outside the compound.