South Korean court rules ex‑President Yoon Suk Yeol guilty in insurrection trial

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ASouth Korean courtsentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison Thursday for leading an insurrection after declaring martial law in December 2024.

Yoon was found guilty ofabuse of authorityand masterminding the insurrection.

Yoon, 65, denied the charges and argued that he hadpresidential authorityto declare martial law and that his action was aimed at sounding the alarm over opposition parties’ obstruction of government.

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South Korea’s ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after he was found guilty of orchestrating a rebellion when he declared martial law on Dec.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… actually destroying the liberal democratic constitutional order.”

Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law lasted roughly six hours, sparking mass street protests before parliament quickly voted it down.

Under South Korean law, masterminding an insurrection carries a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment.Prosecutors hadsought the death penalty.

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Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison on Feb.19 for leading an insurrection after declaring martial law in December 2024.(AP)

While 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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Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol greets his supporters after he came out of a detention center in Uiwang, South Korea, March 8, 2025.(AP)

Yoon faces eightongoing trial proceedingsand was already given a five-year prison sentence last month in a separate case on charges including obstructing authorities’ attempts to arrest him following his martial law declaration.He has appealed that sentence.

Reuters contributed to this report.