Translated material
Former South Korean president sentenced to life in prison
A South Korean court has sentenced former President Yoon Seok-yeol to life imprisonment for sedition and abuse of power in connection with his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024.
The special prosecutor demanded that the former president be sentenced to death, on which South Korea has had a moratorium since 1997.
Yoon, 65, denies the charges. He argues that as president he had the power to declare martial law, and that his move was intended to draw attention to the obstruction of the government by opposition parties.
According to the BBC, the court also sentenced a number of other former officials who were charged along with Yoon. In particular, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was sentenced to 30 years in prison, former intelligence commander No Sang-won - to 18 years, former police chief Cho Ji-ho - to 12 years.
Those convicted have a week to appeal the decision.
- On December 3, 2024, Yun Sok Yeol, after a long conflict with the parliamentary opposition, announced the introduction of martial law “for the sake of fighting internal supporters of the DPRK.” The decree, which was in effect for six hours, prohibited the work of political parties, protests, strikes, introduced censorship and military tribunals with the right to impose a death sentence. This caused large-scale protests both on the streets of Seoul and in parliament. Deputies later accused Yun of attempted sedition and subjected him to impeachment proceedings.
- In January 2026, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for obstruction of justice. He was found guilty of refusing to allow himself to be detained in January 2025, drafting and, following a parliamentary decision, destroying a revised martial law decree, and ordering the deletion of records from phones used by the military.
- A total of eight criminal cases have been brought against the former president, which relate to the attempt to impose martial law, the alleged corruption of his wife and the death of a Marine in 2023.