South Korea’s former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for orchestrating a failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.
The Seoul court ruling comes amid widespread public division, with Yoon defending his actions as necessary while prosecutors called them a direct threat to democracy.
The Seoul court found him guilty of mobilising military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led National Assembly, arrest politicians, and establish unchecked power for a considerable time in December 2025.
A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty, arguing that Yoon’s actions posed a threat to the country's democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available. Despite this, analysts had widely predicted that the court would impose a life sentence rather than capital punishment.
Yoon, a staunch conservative, defended his martial law decree on December 3, 2024, saying it was "a necessary act of governance against the liberals, who he described as 'anti-state' forces obstructing his agenda with their legislative majority."
The decree, however, lasted only about six hours before lawmakers managed to break through a blockade of hundreds of heavily-armed troops and police and voted unanimously to lift the measure.
The former president was suspended from office on December 14, 2024, following his impeachment, and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025.
Several former military and police officials who assisted Yoon in enforcing the decree were also convicted.
Ex-Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun received a 30-year jail term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilising the military.
Kim has been under arrest since July while facing multiple criminal trials, with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe punishment.
Yoon had already received a separate five-year sentence last month for resisting arrest, fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring a measure.
Two of Yoon’s Cabinet members were also convicted. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced to 23 years in prison for attempting to legitimise the decree by forcing it through a Cabinet Council meeting, falsifying records and lying under oath. Han has appealed the verdict.
As Yoon arrived at court for the sentencing, security was tight. "Hundreds of police officers watched closely as Yoon supporters rallied outside a judicial complex," while his critics gathered nearby, demanding the death penalty.
The scenes highlighted deep public division over the former leader’s actions and the appropriate punishment.
The court ruling brings to a close one of the most extraordinary episodes in South Korea’s recent political history.
Yoon’s brief martial law decree represented a direct challenge to the democratic system and triggered his impeachment, removal, and prosecution.
While the life sentence spares Yoon the death penalty, it reaffirms the severity with which the judiciary views attempts to undermine constitutional governance.
Analysts note that the convictions of Yoon and his key associates, including military, police, and Cabinet officials, send a strong signal that attempts to subvert democracy will face the full force of the law.
Yoon’s supporters continue to argue that the decree was justified, while critics maintain that his actions "posed a threat to the country's democracy."
The sentencing marks a historic moment, affirming both the resilience of South Korea’s democratic institutions and the judiciary’s resolve to hold even former presidents accountable.
