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Ex-South Korean president remains defiant following life sentence for rebellion
Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life for orchestrating a rebellion using military and police forces to seize the legislature; five senior officials also convicted by Seoul court.
- On Friday, ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol remained defiant after a life sentence for rebellion, while his lawyers dismissed the Seoul Central District Court as biased and rejected the verdict as illegitimate.
- After Yoon's Dec. 3, 2024 martial law decree, a quorum of lawmakers broke through a military blockade and overturned it, leading to his Dec. 14, 2024 suspension.
- Judge Jee Kui-youn concluded Yoon orchestrated a rebellion, mobilized forces, and convicted five officials, including ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received 30 years.
- Facing the sentence, Yoon has seven days to file an appeal of Thursday's ruling, while an independent counsel sought the death penalty and conservative supporters clashed with opponents separated by hundreds of police officers.
- Despite lasting about six hours, Yoon's martial law decree triggered the country's most severe political crisis in decades, which was resolved after Lee won an early election in June last year.
18 Articles
18 Articles
South Korea’s Would-Be Coup Leader Has Been Jailed for Life
Yoon Suk-yeol, the disgraced conservative president who tried to mount a coup against South Korea’s democracy in December 2024, has received a life sentence in prison. The popular resistance to Yoon shows the way for other countries facing authoritarian threats.Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korea’s impeached conservative president, was sentenced to life in prison on February 19 for insurrection. The court’s decision came 443 days after Yoon’s attempt to …
Yoon's life sentence: What it means for South Korea
South Korea's former president Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of insurrection. The punishment was handed down on February 19 by the Seoul Central District Court and comes 443 days after his declaration of martial law plunged the country into political turmoil. NHK World editor-in-chief and former Seoul bureau chief Aoki Yoshiyuki examines what it means for South Korea's political landscape.
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