Former South Korean president sentenced to life in prison for leading insurrection

Rejected president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, gives testimony at the first martial law trial hearing on February 20, 2025. NGO KYUNG-SEOK/Pool via REUTERS Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol was found guilty of leading an insurrection this Thursday (19). The court sentenced the former president to life in prison. The prosecution sought the death penalty in the case, arguing that Yoon deserved the punishment because he did not show “remorse” for actions that threatened the “constitutional order and democracy.” Even if the death penalty were accepted, it was highly unlikely that the sentence would be carried out, as South Korea has had an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997. The former leader claims that the declaration of martial law was a legal exercise of his presidential authority. During the trials, he insisted that “the exercise of a president’s emergency constitutional powers to protect the nation and maintain constitutional order cannot be considered an act of insurrection.” Yoon accuses the then opposition party of having imposed an “unconstitutional dictatorship” by controlling the Legislature. In his opinion, “there was no other option than to awaken the people, who are sovereign.” Other convictions In January, Yeol was sentenced to five years in prison for crimes related to obstruction of justice. The conviction was the outcome of the first of eight criminal trials that Yoon faces in South Korean justice — the former president was accused of an attempted coup by imposing martial law in South Korea in December 2024 (remember below). The sentence is less than the ten years in prison sought by prosecutors against the 65-year-old former conservative leader, whose attempted coup against Parliament plunged the country into a political crisis that led to his removal from office. The former president was found guilty of failing to follow due process before declaring martial law and other crimes related to obstruction of justice. They are: Excluding government officials from a meeting on preparations for the imposition of martial law; Create an official document related to the declaration of martial law; Prevent investigators from arresting him by hiding for weeks in the official residence under the protection of his personal guard; Destroy possible criminal evidence by ordering the deletion of official phone records. “Despite having the duty, above all others, to defend the Constitution and observe the rule of law as president, the defendant demonstrated an attitude that disrespected the Constitution. (…) The defendant’s culpability is extremely serious,” said judge Baek Dae-hyun. The judge added, however, that Yoon was not found guilty of falsifying official documents due to a lack of evidence. Yoon’s defense, who has already been imprisoned since July 2025, stated that he will appeal the decision. See the videos that are trending on g1 Remember the case President of South Korea declares martial law; understand the term Yoon Suk Yeol decreed martial law in South Korea on December 3, 2024. With the decree, the president attempted to close Parliament and limit the population’s civil rights. However, with resistance from legislators and the population to the announcement, the measure was overturned hours later. In January 2025, prosecutors in South Korea indicted the ousted president for insurrection, which is one of the few criminal charges from which a president in the country does not have immunity. The crime is punishable by life in prison or death, although no one has been executed for the crime in decades. Before going to prison and becoming the first sitting South Korean president to be detained, he resisted for weeks at his residence thanks to the protection of the presidential security body. In South Korean Constitutional Court hearings, Yoon and his lawyers argued that he never intended to fully impose martial law, but merely intended the measures to be a warning to break the political impasse.

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