South Korean Ex-President Sentenced to Life in Prison for Insurrection

South Korea’s former President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment Thursday after being convicted of abusing his authority and leading an insurrection related to his imposition of martial law in late 2024.

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Presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon from the Seoul Central District Court said that Yoon “directly and proactively planned the offense,” which “resulted in enormous social costs,” and that “it has been difficult to find any indication that the defendant has expressed remorse regarding this.” Ji also convicted former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun for participating and planning the insurrection with Yoon.

Ji blamed Yoon and Kim for causing “incalculable” harm to South Korea’s international reputation as well as domestic public trust in institutions, including the police.

But Ji also said that Yoon’s insurrection plan was not “extremely meticulous” and that there appeared to be efforts to restrain the use of physical force, such as the lack of live ammunition fire. He also referenced Yoon’s “advanced age.” Yoon is 65.

While prosecutors sought a death sentence for Yoon, experts previously told TIME that he would likely not have actually faced execution even if he received it. Despite the sentence continuing to be handed out on rare occasions, South Korea has had an effective moratorium on carrying out capital punishment since 1997. Yoon also could still appeal the ruling, which would escalate the case to a higher court and could take months to resolve.

Yoon’s lawyer expressed concerns about the conviction to reporters outside the court, saying that it appeared to be predetermined before the trial even took place. “We are witnessing a reality,” the lawyer claimed, “in which the rule of law is collapsing.”

If his appeals are unsuccessful, Yoon will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He has been jailed since July 2025 and has already been sentenced to five years in prison on separate charges. After Thursday’s ruling, he still faces six more trials.

Yoon had declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, though it was reversed several hours later by the legislature, who went on to impeach him for his blatant bid to seize power during the final months of his lame-duck presidency.

Several South Korean leaders have been prosecuted and jailed after leaving office, but Yoon, a staunch conservative and former prosecutor-general, became the first President in the country’s history to be detained on criminal charges while still in office. 

Yoon, in his defense, has denied charges of insurrection, instead accusing the rival Democratic Party of obstructing his agenda, which he says forced him to declare martial law to maintain order. Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was elected in June last year to succeed Yoon.

Still, Yoon, who was unpopular during his presidency, has become a figurehead for South Korea’s populist right. Outside his hearing on Thursday, hundreds of supporters gathered to protest his prosecutions as political persecution, as simultaneous anti-Yoon rallies took place nearby. According to reports, some pro-Yoon supporters were in tears after the verdict.