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Ex-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has received a life sentence after a court found him guilty of insurrection related to his failed 2024 coup attempt, during which he declared martial law.
Prosecutors had initially pursued the death penalty, but Yoon’s fate was sealed with a life imprisonment verdict delivered by a Seoul court on Thursday.
Despite his plea of innocence, Yoon was convicted of insurrection and will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The 65-year-old former president was deemed guilty of rebellion for orchestrating an illegal takeover of the National Assembly, deploying military and police forces to arrest politicians and consolidate power.
Alongside Yoon, his former defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, who was instrumental in the military mobilization, received a 30-year prison sentence.
The ex-president defended his decision to impose martial law. He wanted to stop liberals, who he described as “anti-state” forces and claimed they were blocking his legislative agenda.
Yoon vowed to “eradicate pro-North Korean forces” and stop South Korea from plunging into “the depths of national ruin.”
It was the first time martial law had been declared since South Korea’s democratization in 1987.
The decree sparked protests and it was condemned by opposition politicians and the leader of Yoon’s conservative party before being lifted after around six hours.
Yoon was impeached and formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He has been under arrest since July last year.
Last month, he was slapped with a five-year prison sentence on several charges, including resisting arrest, and fabricating the martial law proclamation.
Military strongman Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death in 1996 – before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was eventually pardoned and released.
In January, former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was jailed for 23 years on charges including insurrection.
The judge accused Han of participating in the insurrection before adding: “As a result, South Korea was in danger of returning to the dark past when the basic rights and liberal democratic order of the people were violated, potentially preventing them from escaping … dictatorship for a long time.”
Han was found guilty of “engaging in (the) key action of insurrection”, as well as on related charges of perjury and falsifying an official document.
Yoon is expected to appeal his sentence.
With Post wires