Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law. The dramatic verdict marks a culmination of the country's most significant political crisis in decades.
Yoon fell from office after an attempt to bypass the opposition-controlled legislature by declaring martial law and surrounding it with troops on December 3, 2024. Judge Jee Kui-youn found Yoon guilty of rebellion, citing an illegal mobilization of military and police forces to seize the National Assembly, arrest politicians, and establish unchecked power.
His lawyer stated the ruling lacked evidence, while a special prosecutor had sought the death penalty. Analysts largely anticipated a life sentence due to the lack of casualties in the power grab.
The court also convicted and sentenced former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon's decree. Ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun received a 30-year jail term for his role in planning the measure. Yoon, a conservative, defended the martial law as a necessary measure against what he termed "anti-state" liberal forces obstructing his agenda.
The martial law decree lasted approximately six hours before being lifted by lawmakers. Yoon was impeached on December 14, 2024, and formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He has been in custody since July, facing multiple charges, with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe penalty. Previously, Yoon received a five-year prison sentence for resisting arrest and fabricating the martial law proclamation.