South Korean court finds ex‑President Yoon guilty of insurrection, sentences to life in prison

A South Korean court on Thursday found former President Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of insurrection and sentenced him to life in prison after declaring martial law in December 2024.

Yoon, 65, was found guilty of abuse of authority and masterminding an insurrection, Fox News reported. He denied the charges and argued that he had presidential authority to declare martial law, which he said was aimed at raising the alarm over opposition parties' obstruction of government.

Last month, prosecutors said that Yoon's "unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Election Commission ... actually destroying the liberal democratic constitutional order."

Yoon's attempt to impose martial law lasted about six hours, resulting in mass street protests before parliament quickly voted it down.

In South Korea, masterminding an insurrection carries a maximum sentence of death or life imprisonment. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in Yoon's case.

South Korean courts last imposed a death sentence in 2016, but the country has not carried out an execution since 1997.

Yoon is expected to appeal the ruling.

He is also facing eight ongoing trial proceedings and was already given a five-year prison sentence last month in a separate case on charges including obstructing authorities’ attempts to arrest him following his martial law declaration. Yoon has appealed that sentence.