Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of insurrection over his botched 2024 power grab where he imposed martial law.
Prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty before the former leader learned his fate in a Seoul court Thursday.
He was found guilty of insurrection – despite pleading not guilty to the charge – and sentenced to life behind bars.
Yoon, 65, was found guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal bid to seize the National Assembly, arrest politicians, and establish unchecked power.
Yoon’s former defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, played a significant role in mobilizing the military and was slapped with a 30-year jail 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
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