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Court hands down life sentence for martial law plot
Seoul's Central District Court convicted former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol of orchestrating an insurrection after he ordered troops to surround parliament and detain lawmakers on 3 December 2024. Presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon declared the move a direct assault on the nation's democratic foundations and imposed a life term, rejecting prosecutors' demand for the death penalty.
Chaos on the streets, division in the courtroom
Hundreds of Yoon's backers massed outside the courthouse before dawn, brandishing banners that read "Yoon, again." Many collapsed in tears when the verdict was announced. Opposing demonstrators, meanwhile, chanted for capital punishment. Police deployed 1,000 officers and ringed the building with buses to keep the two groups apart.
The 3 December power grab
Yoon stunned the nation by announcing martial law during a live television address. He justified the move as necessary to counter "anti-state forces" allegedly sympathetic to North Korea, yet evidence presented at trial showed his real motive was domestic: an opposition-controlled parliament had stripped him of authority, and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, faced multiple corruption investigations.
Within hours, legislators stormed back into the National Assembly and overturned the decree, triggering months of political turmoil that culminated in Yoon's impeachment and a wave of criminal charges.
Co-conspirators receive lengthy terms
On the same day, the court sentenced ex-defence minister Kim Yong-hyun to 30 years for advising Yoon to declare martial law. Former prime minister Han Duck-soo received 23 years last month. Other senior figures-interior minister Lee Sang-min, intelligence chief Roh Sang-won, and police commissioner Cho Ji-ho-also began multi-year prison sentences for their roles in what judges called "an insurrection from the top."
Legal battles continue
Yoon remained expressionless as the verdict was read. His legal team immediately denounced the ruling as unsupported by evidence and accused the judge of following a "pre-written script." Both prosecution and defence have the right to appeal, which would send the case to the Supreme Court and delay a final decision for months.
Yoon is already serving time for separate convictions of abuse of power and resisting arrest. Three additional trials related to the insurrection remain pending.
Political fallout and public reaction
The ruling Democratic Party, which won the presidency after Yoon's removal, condemned the life sentence as insufficient. Party leader Jung Chung-rae called it "a clear regress from the people's revolution" and vowed to press for harsher penalties.
"Yoon masterminded an insurrection that shook the very foundations of our nation. The public will find today's decision deeply unsatisfactory and unacceptable."
Jung Chung-rae, Democratic Party leader
South Korea has not carried out an execution since December 1997, so even a death sentence would effectively amount to life imprisonment. Historical precedent suggests Yoon may ultimately be pardoned after serving two to five years, a prospect many observers expect despite the gravity of the charges.
