South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk Yeol jailed for life for leading insurrection | Yoon Suk Yeol

A South Korean court sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment for his failed declaration of martial law in December 2024, finding him guilty of leading a rebellion and making him the first elected head of state to receive the maximum prison sentence in the country’s democratic era.

The Seoul central district court ruled that Yoon’s declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024 constituted an insurrection carried out with the aim of disrupting the constitutional order.

Judge Jee Kui-youn said the aim was to “send troops to the national assembly to blockade the assembly hall and arrest important figures, including the speaker of the assembly and party leaders, thus preventing MPs from meeting to deliberate or vote.”

In sentencing Yoon on Thursday, the court noted his failure to apologize throughout the trial, his unjustified refusal to attend hearings, and the huge social costs his actions had caused to South Korean society.

The court said the martial law order greatly damaged the political neutrality of the army and police and caused the decline of South Korea’s political standing and credibility in the international community, leaving the society “politically divided and facing extreme conflicts.”

The court preferred life imprisonment over the death penalty, stating that although the crime was serious, Yoon’s plan did not appear meticulous, he tried to limit the use of physical force, and most of his plans ultimately failed.

In a historical review, the judge traced the history of the sedition law, citing the 1649 execution of Charles I of England, who led troops into parliament to prove that even heads of state could stage an insurrection by attacking the legislature.

The verdict was broadcast live on national television, with Yoon seen briefly smiling upon arrival and then showing no visible reaction as the sentence was handed down.

Under South Korean law, the charge of leading a rebellion carries three possible penalties: death, life imprisonment, or life imprisonment without labor.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, arguing that Yoon “seriously destroyed the constitutional order” by mobilizing soldiers to surround parliament and attempting to arrest political opponents during the six-hour crisis.

The decision comes 14 months after events that posed the most serious threat to South Korean democracy in decades.

The charges stem from events on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, when prosecutors say Yoon tried to use military force to paralyze the legislature, arrest political opponents and seize control of the national election commission. Yoon claimed to root out “anti-state forces” and alleged election fraud without providing evidence.

A few hours after the declaration was published, 190 MPs broke through the military and police cordon and passed an emergency decree lifting martial law. The parliament impeached Yoon within 11 days, and the constitutional court impeached him four months later.

Outside the courthouse, hundreds of Yoon supporters, waving South Korean and U.S. flags and chanting “Yoon again,” initially applauded the judge’s rejection of some prosecution evidence but turned hostile as the verdict progressed. Some fans shouted “political judge, resign” and cursed at the journalists.

When the sentence was announced, some burst into tears and shouted “the country is finished.” About 500 meters away, progressive groups chanted and embraced each other, but some expressed disappointment that the death penalty had not been introduced.

Yoon faces six additional criminal cases, two of which stem from the martial law crisis, including a treason charge alleging he ordered drone strikes on North Korean airspace in an attempt to provoke a conflict that could justify military rule. He has already been sentenced to five years in prison for hindering his own arrest.

Thursday’s ruling follows a series of related rulings finding that the events of December 3 officially constitute an insurrection.

In January, former prime minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison in a ruling that described the attempted martial law as a “self-coup” by the elected government that was more dangerous than traditional uprisings. The sentence far exceeded prosecutors’ 15-year request; This shows that the judiciary is willing to impose harsh sentences.

Former interior minister Lee Sang-min on February 12 sentenced to seven years in prison For Yoon’s role in the uprising, including relaying the order to media outlets to cut off electricity and water.

Legal experts said The verdicts created a sentencing environment that made it more likely that the harshest sentence would be imposed in Yoon’s case.

The court also sentenced seven defendants: former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun to 30 years; Noh Sang-won, a former intelligence commander, for up to 18 years; Former police chief Cho Ji-ho was sentenced to 12 years in prison; and former Seoul police chief Kim Bong-sik were sentenced to 10 years in prison. Police commander Mok Hyun-tae was sentenced to three years in prison. Two defendants, Kim Yong-geun and Yoon Seung-young, were acquitted.

Yoon’s legal team released a statement calling the verdict a “predetermined outcome” and a “show trial” and said they had failed to respect the decision.

They accused the judiciary of “kneeling to incite public opinion and political power” and applying double standards, pointing to the postponed trial of President Lee Jae Myung and the acquittal of opposition politicians on the grounds of illegal evidence.

His legal team vowed to fight “to the end” and said the truth would eventually emerge “in the court of history”. Yoon is expected to object.

A life sentence has no fixed release date; Parole is theoretically possible after 20 years if good behavior and remorse are shown.

Former president Park Geun-hye was initially sentenced to a fine. total 32 years He was in prison in 2018 for corruption and related crimes. That period was later reduced upon appeal and eventually erased by a presidential pardon in 2021.

In 1996, military dictators Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were sentenced to death and 22 and a half years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the 1979 coup and subsequent massacre in Gwangju. Sentences were later reduced on appeal and both men were eventually pardoned.

Every South Korean president who served a prison sentence was eventually pardoned.