A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison for leading an uprising after declaring martial law in December 2024.
Yoon was found guilty of abuse of power and masterminding the uprising.
Yoon, 65, denied the charges, arguing that he had presidential authority to declare martial law and that his action was aimed at raising the alarm about opposition parties’ obstruction of the government.
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South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of orchestrating an uprising when he declared martial law on December 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, pool)
Prosecutors said in January that Yoon’s “unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Election Commission… and effectively destroyed the liberal-democratic constitutional order.”
Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law lasted about six hours, sparking massive street protests before parliament quickly rejected it.
Under South Korean law, planning an insurrection carries a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment. Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty.
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Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison on February 19 for leading an uprising after declaring martial law in December 2024. (AP)
Although courts last imposed a death sentence in 2016, South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997.
Yoon is expected to appeal the ruling.
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Deposed South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol greets his supporters after emerging from a detention center in Uiwang, South Korea on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP)
Yoon faces eight pending cases and was already given a five-year prison sentence last month in a separate case on charges including obstructing efforts by authorities to arrest him following his declaration of martial law. He has appealed against that verdict.
Reuters contributed to this report.
