South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment with labour on Thursday after a Seoul court found him guilty of leading an insurrection through his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024.
The Seoul central district court ruled that Yoon attempted to subvert the constitution by deploying military forces to seal off the National Assembly and ordering the arrest of key political figures, actions judges said disrupted the constitutional order and inflicted deep damage on the country’s democracy.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty.
The verdict, delivered 14 months after the six-hour crisis, marks the most severe punishment imposed on an elected head of state in South Korea’s democratic era.
Judge Jee Kui-youn said the purpose of the decree was “to send troops to the national assembly to blockade the assembly hall and arrest key figures, including the assembly speaker and party leaders, thereby preventing lawmakers from gathering to deliberate or vote”.
The court concluded that the declaration constituted an insurrection, though it found insufficient evidence that Yoon had meticulously planned the move a year in advance.
In opting for life imprisonment rather than death, the court cited the gravity of the crime but noted that many elements of the plan ultimately failed and that physical force had been limited.
Judges also pointed to Yoon’s lack of apology and the social costs of the crisis, saying it damaged the political neutrality of the military and police and left society deeply divided.
Yoon’s lawyers described the ruling as “a predetermined conclusion” and a “show trial”, and signaled their intention to appeal.
The martial law order was overturned within hours after 190 lawmakers forced their way past security cordons to pass an emergency resolution lifting it.
Yoon was impeached within days and formally removed from office months later, triggering political upheaval and a series of prosecutions against senior officials.
Former prime minister Han Duck-soo received a 23-year sentence, while former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun was jailed for 30 years.
Other officials, including former interior minister Lee Sang-min and senior police and intelligence figures, were also sentenced to prison terms, as courts characterized the episode as an “insurrection from the top”.
Outside the courthouse, supporters and opponents gathered in large numbers, reflecting the enduring polarisation that has followed the failed bid for military rule.