South Korea's former president Yoon Suk Yeol jailed for life for leading insurrection

Source: The Guardian

A South Korean court has sentenced the former president Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment with labour over his failed martial law declaration in December 2024, finding him guilty of leading an insurrection and making him the first elected head of state in the country’s democratic era to receive the maximum custodial sentence.

The Seoul central district court found that Yoon’s declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024 constituted insurrection, carried out with the intent to disrupt the constitutional order.

Judge Jee Kui-youn said the purpose was “to send troops to the national assembly to blockade the assembly hall and arrest key figures, including the assembly speaker and party leaders, thereby preventing lawmakers from gathering to deliberate or vote”.



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/19/yoon-suk-yeol-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-leading-insurrection-in-south-korea