South Korea jails ousted President Yoon for life over martial law bid

The Seoul Central District Court convicted Yoon of acting as an “insurrection ringleader” and handed down a life sentence in the first trial, Yonhap News reported.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty over his failed attempt to impose martial law on the night of Dec. 3, 2024.

Yoon attended the hearing, which was broadcast live on national television.

In its verdict, the court said the martial law order amounted to an insurrection, stating that Yoon sought to cripple the National Assembly by sending troops to the parliament compound.

The court also sentenced former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to 30 years in prison, while former Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won received an 18-year sentence for their roles in the failed martial law declaration.

Yoon was indicted in January 2025 on charges of leading an insurrection after declaring martial law in December 2024, a move that lasted approximately six hours before being overturned.

Prosecutors alleged that he ordered military troops and police to surround the National Assembly in an effort to block lawmakers from voting down his decree.

Last month, Yoon was also sentenced to five years in prison on charges that he obstructed investigators’ attempt to detain him last year.

The former president faces a total of seven trials in connection with his martial law attempt, his wife’s alleged corruption, and the 2023 death of a Marine officer.

Yoon was arrested and indicted last January on charges of leading an insurrection, making him the first sitting president in South Korean history to be taken into custody. He was released in March, rearrested in July, and has remained in detention since.