Seoul, South Korea – Yoon Suk Yeol, the impeached former president of South Korea, was found guilty of insurrection and sentenced to life in prison over his failed attempt to impose martial law on the U.S. ally.
The “unconstitutional” and “illegal emergency martial law” that Yoon declared also undermined the role of the National Assembly and the Election Commission. It also undermined the liberal democratic constitutional order.
According to the Seoul Central District Court, Yoon was found guilty of rebellion after he declared martial law and sent soldiers and police to surround the country’s National Assembly on December 3, 2024.
Although prosecutors had requested the death penalty for the former president, he was given one of the harshest sentences, which was life imprisonment with hard labor.
Lawmakers impeached Yoon about 10 days later, and in January 2025 he became South Korea’s first president to be arrested while in office. South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment in April.
Yoon served as president of South Korea for nearly three years and has been under arrest since July while facing multiple criminal trials on rebellion charges.—Grachella Corazon, Eurotv News