In South Korea, a court has sentenced former President Yoon Seok Yeol to life in prison. He was found guilty of leading an uprising related to the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024.
This is reported by The Korea Times.
The court concluded that the martial law decree and the attempt to block the work of parliament met the legal definition of rebellion, but refused to impose the death sentence, despite the request of the special prosecutor.
However, Yoonʼs lawyers argue that he was legitimately exercising his presidential powers to warn the public about what he called a national crisis. In his closing statement, the former president said that his goal was to warn and urge citizens, not to attempt to overthrow the constitutional order.
Under South Korean law, the offense of leading an uprising carries only three possible penalties: the death penalty, life imprisonment with hard labor, or life imprisonment without hard labor.
The court previously sentenced Yoon Seok Yeol to five years in prison for attempting to obstruct his arrest.
Martial law in South Korea
On the night of December 3-4, 2024, then-President of South Korea Yoon Seok Yeol declared martial law in the country to “protect the constitutional order” — the first time since the 1980s. The reason was that the opposition Democratic Party, which has a majority in parliament, rejected the government’s budget proposal and decided to impeach the state auditor and the attorney general. In total, martial law lasted about six hours, but caused an acute internal crisis.
On January 15, 2025, Yoon Seok Yeol was arrested. He is currently in a detention center. He is accused of sedition, abuse of power, and aiding an enemy state.
South Koreaʼs Constitutional Court removed Yoon Seok Yeol from office in a unanimous verdict on April 4.
Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee was arrested on August 13 on charges of involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, election interference, and bribery. She and former President Yoon Seok Yeol became the first former presidential spouses to be detained at the same time.
A Korean court in the same case also sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck Soo to 23 years in prison. The court concluded that Han suggested that then-President Yoon Seok Yeol convene a cabinet meeting before declaring martial law.
According to the court, the former head of government did not object to the declaration of martial law and called on the Minister of Internal Affairs to stop the supply of electricity and water to opposition media outlets.
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