Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after a court found him guilty of leading an insurrection during his short-lived imposition of martial law, which plunged the country into political chaos and threatened to unravel decades of democracy.
The verdict closes a chapter of one of South Korea’s biggest political crises, a saga full of dramatic twists that have tested the country’s democratic guardrails.
On December 3, 2024, Yoon, 65, declared martial law in a late-night televised speech, saying there were “anti-state forces” within opposition parties that were sympathetic to North Korea.
Armed soldiers descended on the parliament by helicopter and attempted to storm the chamber where lawmakers were gathered. Shocked and angry citizens, along with lawmakers and parliament staff, rushed to barricade the entrances and fought to block the soldiers from reaching the chamber, in chaotic scenes broadcast live on television.
Yoon’s shocking declaration revived dark memories of the country’s authoritarian past, plunged South Korea into a constitutional crisis, and was widely condemned as striking at the heart of the nation’s democracy. He reversed course within six hours, after lawmakers forced their way into parliament and voted unanimously to block it.
Since the late 1980s, South Korea has transformed into a robust democracy, with regular protests, free speech, fair elections, and peaceful transfers of power. The country has also since grown into a major player in the global economy and remains a crucial US ally in Asia.
But its domestic political scene remains deeply polarized and fractious, with presidents on both sides of the political divide often facing calls for impeachment, criminal investigations, and prosecution.
A crowd of Yoon supporters gathered outside the Seoul Central District Court, watching proceedings on a large screen as they were broadcast live nationwide.
Presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon said it was clear that Yoon’s intention in declaring martial law was to paralyze the National Assembly for a significant period of time, considering the words he used in the military decree and the fact that he tried to arrest political opponents, including the leader of the opposition Democratic Party and his own ruling party’s leader, Han Dong-hoo.
The very act of dispatching armed soldiers to the parliament building and transporting them by helicopter constituted acts of insurrection, Ji said.
Former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun was also found guilty Thursday of playing a major role in the insurrection and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Kim had previously taken responsibility for ordering soldiers to enact martial law.
Song Hwa, 35, who rushed to the National Assembly on December 3 with her husband after hearing Yoon’s declaration, said the verdict was an “extremely important decision” that “will send a powerful message to the public.”
Leader of Rebuilding Korea Party weighs in on Yoon verdict
Cho Kuk, leader of the liberal-leaning Rebuilding Korea Party, said Yoon “tried to destroy South Korea’s democracy.”
“There are many places where democracy is faltering,” he added. “South Korea’s experience shows that the power to protect and recover democracy lies within the people.”
Yoon, who can appeal the ruling, had denied the insurrection charge, saying his imposition of martial law was meant to alert the public to paralysing political gridlock caused by the opposition party’s majority in the National Assembly and its impeachment of several senior officials.
“The National Assembly brought about the national crisis, and there was no other way but to awaken the people,” he said in closing statements, arguing that as president, he was exercising his constitutional authority.
Yoon, a former prosecutor, called the charge “a delusion and a work of fiction.” He had argued that there was no real intent to arrest lawmakers, no heavy weaponry was deployed, and there were no serious casualties.
Insurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, a largely symbolic move as the country hasn’t executed anyone in decades.
“The series of actions destroyed the liberal democratic constitutional order,” special counsel Park Eok-su said in closing arguments.
“The shock, fear, anxiety, wounds, and sense of loss suffered by the people are beyond description,” he added.
Prosecutors said Yoon had not shown remorse and there remained a risk that his invocation of emergency martial law could be repeated in the future.
“The gravity of the crime of insurrection threatens the very existence of the community,” prosecutors said.
Yoon was first detained in January 2025 after resisting attempts to arrest him in a weeks-long standoffwith authorities at his home in Seoul. He was the first South Korean president to be arrested while in office. He was impeached 11 days after declaring martial law and removed from office four months later.
