A court in South Korea on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of abuse of authority and masterminding an insurrection linked to his December 2024 attempt to impose martial law.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in a case that has gripped a deeply divided nation and marked one of the most consequential legal battles in the country’s modern political history. Under South Korean law, masterminding an insurrection carries a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment. Although courts have handed down death sentences in recent years, the country has not carried out an execution since 1997.
In their closing arguments in January, prosecutors described Yoon’s declaration of emergency martial law as “unconstitutional and illegal,” arguing that it undermined the National Assembly and the Election Commission, effectively threatening the country’s liberal democratic constitutional order.
The Seoul Central District Court, surrounded by a heavy police presence and cordoned off with buses for security, also considered charges that Yoon abused his authority by ordering troops to storm parliament in an effort to detain political opponents. He was further accused of dispatching soldiers and police to block and control access to key facilities, including opposition party offices.
Yoon, 65, has denied all charges. The conservative former prosecutor maintained that he acted within his presidential authority and said the martial law declaration was intended to draw attention to what he described as obstruction by opposition parties.
The martial law order, which lasted approximately six hours before being overturned by parliament amid mass street protests, triggered a profound political crisis. The episode sent shockwaves through South Korea — Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key security ally of the United States — and raised concerns about the resilience of its democratic institutions.
Yoon is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Centre and is expected to remain there as legal proceedings continue. He is likely to appeal the ruling, a process that could ultimately reach the Supreme Court. Judicial guidelines suggest that first trials conclude within six months and appeals within two years, though politically sensitive cases often extend beyond those timelines.
Even before Thursday’s ruling, Yoon faced mounting legal challenges. In January, he received a separate five-year prison sentence on charges including obstructing authorities’ attempts to arrest him following the martial law declaration. He has appealed that conviction as well and faces multiple additional trials.
In a post on X, President Lee Jae Myung, who won a snap election in June following Yoon’s removal from office, praised the public for resisting the martial law attempt. Referring to the country by its official name, the Republic of Korea, Lee said the peaceful opposition demonstrated the strength of the Korean people and could serve as an example to the world.
The dramatic fall of a sitting president and the unprecedented life sentence underscore a defining moment in South Korea’s democratic history — one that continues to test the nation’s political institutions and social cohesion.
Melissa Enoch
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