A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison for declaring martial law in December 2024.
The court convicted the 65-year-old of leading an insurrection and undermining the constitution.
The ruling by the Seoul Central District Court marked a major milestone in one of the most significant political trials in the country’s recent history.
Yoon’s actions plunged the nation into a severe constitutional crisis.
He can appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, the maximum sentence available under South Korean law for insurrection.
In his ruling, Judge Jee Kui Youn found the charge of leading an insurrection to be fulfilled but rejected the special prosecutor’s claim that Yoon had prepared the martial law decree to establish “permanent dictatorship.”
Thousands of supporters of the conservative politician gathered outside the courthouse, calling for his release.
Some demonstrators waved U.S. flags, expressing hope that U.S. President Donald Trump could exert political pressure on South Korea’s judiciary.
Supporters are now looking to the possibility of a presidential pardon.
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On the evening of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon unexpectedly declared martial law, triggering the most serious constitutional crisis in decades.
In a televised address, he said he sought to protect the country’s liberal order from an opposition he claimed was infiltrated by communists and sympathisers of North Korea.
He did not provide evidence.
Armed soldiers were dispatched to seal off the National Assembly, with some smashing windows and entering the building.
Minor scuffles broke out with lawmakers. The decree was overturned within hours in an emergency parliamentary vote, and Yoon was later removed from office, arrested and charged.
Prosecutors argued that Yoon had long planned the imposition of martial law to dismantle the constitutional order, accusing him of causing “enormous damage and great suffering.”
They also said he had not shown remorse.
South Korea has maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since the late 1990s, meaning the death penalty, though still on the books, is not carried out.
In a separate case, Yoon was previously sentenced to five years in prison for obstruction of justice, after the court found he destroyed evidence and misused the presidential security service to resist arrest.
Since June 2025, South Korea has been governed by center-left President Lee Jae Myung, Yoon’s long-time political rival and the former opposition leader during the crisis.
dpa/NAN
