Ex-SoKor leader gets life in prison for insurrection

A South Korean court declared former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law bid in 2024 an insurrection, sentencing the disgraced leader to life in prison on Thursday.

- 

(FILES) South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul. AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

(AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE)

Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised address in December 2024, saying drastic measures were needed to root out “anti-state forces”.

Although Yoon’s bid to impose military rule lasted just six hours, it triggered widespread panic in a nation seen as a beacon of democracy in Asia.

The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of leading an insurrection, designed to “paralyze” his many critics in the National Assembly.

“The declaration of martial law resulted in enormous social costs, and it is difficult to find any indication that the defendant has expressed remorse for that,” presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon said.

Prosecutors had sought the harshest penalty for Yoon’s insurrection charges, urging the court to sentence him to death.