Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol received a life sentence Thursday after a Seoul court found him guilty of leading an insurrection when he declared martial law in December 2024, sending armed soldiers to storm the country’s parliament in a dramatic attempt to seize power.
The 65-year-old Yoon became the first democratically elected South Korean head of state to receive the maximum custodial sentence for insurrection. Presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon ruled that Yoon “directly and proactively planned the offense,” which “resulted in enormous social costs.”
The verdict closes one chapter of South Korea’s biggest political crisis in decades, though the nation remains deeply divided over the disgraced leader’s fate.
On the night of December 3, 2024, Yoon appeared on television to announce martial law—the country’s first in 44 years—claiming he needed to root out “anti-state forces” within opposition parties that were sympathetic to North Korea. Armed soldiers descended on the National Assembly by helicopter and attempted to storm the legislative chamber where lawmakers were gathered.
Shocked citizens, lawmakers, and parliament staff rushed to barricade the entrances in chaotic scenes broadcast live across the nation. The dramatic confrontation revived dark memories of South Korea’s authoritarian past and threatened to unravel decades of democratic progress.
Yoon reversed his martial law declaration within six hours after 190 lawmakers forced their way into parliament and voted unanimously to block it. Parliament impeached him 11 days later, and the Constitutional Court removed him from office in April 2025.
In Thursday’s ruling, Ji found that Yoon’s intention was to paralyze the National Assembly for a considerable period, considering the military decree’s language and his attempts to arrest political opponents—including the Democratic Party leader and his own ruling party’s leader Han Dong-hoon. The court determined the deployment of troops constituted “rioting,” a central component of insurrection charges under South Korean law.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, though South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997. The court opted for life imprisonment, noting that while Yoon’s crime was grave, his poorly planned power grab did not result in casualties. The judge also cited Yoon’s refusal to show remorse throughout the proceedings.
Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who took responsibility for ordering soldiers to enact martial law, received a 30-year prison sentence. Four other former military and police officials received sentences ranging from 3 to 18 years, including former National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho, who got 12 years, and former Korea Defense Intelligence Command chief Noh Sang-won, who received 18 years. Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was handed a 23-year sentence in January, while former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min was jailed for seven years on February 12 for relaying Yoon’s orders.
Outside the Seoul Central District Court, hundreds of Yoon supporters waving South Korean and American flags gathered as the proceedings unfolded on a large screen. Many wore red MAGA-inspired hats with Korean text reading “against the unlawful impeachment” and carried “Stop the Steal” placards, echoing rhetoric from supporters of President Donald Trump. Yoon’s backers have insisted that the April 2024 legislative election was rigged against them, claims that have never been substantiated by national election authorities or the judiciary.
When the sentence was announced, some supporters collapsed in tears. About 500 meters away, progressive groups erupted in cheers and embraced one another. Yoon supporters shouted profanity in the courtroom after the presiding judge delivered the verdict.
Yoon’s lawyers denounced the ruling as “nothing more than a mere formality to reach a predetermined conclusion” and vowed to continue fighting. One of his attorneys, Yoon Kap-keun, accused the judge of issuing a verdict based solely on prosecutors’ arguments, saying the “rule of law” had collapsed.
Song Hwa, 35, rushed to the National Assembly on December 3 with her husband after hearing Yoon’s martial law declaration. She joined thousands of citizens who barricaded themselves inside to protect their democracy from what they saw as an authoritarian power grab.
The political crisis escalated in January 2025 when Yoon barricaded himself inside his residence and ordered his security team to block investigators executing an arrest warrant, leading to a standoff involving more than 3,000 police personnel. He surrendered on January 15, 2025, becoming the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested. He was later sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for obstructing his own arrest.
Yoon faces six additional criminal trials related to the martial law incident and other allegations. If his legal team appeals Thursday’s ruling, the case will go to South Korea’s Supreme Court, potentially delaying a final verdict for months.
South Korea has a troubled history with former presidents. Several leaders on both sides of the political divide have faced criminal investigations and prosecution, including Chun Doo-hwan, who was convicted of insurrection in 1996 for seizing power in a 1979 military coup. Thursday’s verdict marks the first time in 30 years that South Korea has sentenced a leader for insurrection. The country’s domestic political scene remains deeply polarized, even as it has grown into a major player in the global economy and a crucial ally of the United States in Asia.
An expressionless Yoon gazed straight ahead as the judge delivered the sentence in the same courtroom where former military rulers and presidents have been convicted of treason, corruption, and other crimes over the decades. His political career and freedom ended with the judge’s historic ruling.