Former President Yoon Suk Yeol Sentenced to Life for 2024 Insurrection

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday after a Seoul court found him guilty of masterminding an insurrection when he declared martial law in 2024. Prosecutors had demanded a death sentence for the 65-year-old, who had been on trial since April on charges stemming from the short-lived decree.

Presiding Judge Ji Gwi-yeon said Mr. Yoon had “flouted legal procedures and resorted to violent means to try to incapacitate the National Assembly and undermine democratic norms,” but noted his age and that he had refrained from using lethal force. Mr. Yoon declared martial law on the night of Dec.

3, 2024, saying it was necessary to eliminate “anti-state forces” within the opposition-dominated National Assembly and calling the legislature a “den of criminals.” The decree banned political activities, placed news media under military control and sent armed troops to raid the National Assembly and the National Election Commission.

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