Ex-South Korean leader gets life sentence for insurrection

What happened

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison today for his short-lived declaration of martial law in 2024. Judges at the Seoul Central District Court found Yoon, 65, guilty of leading an insurrection, the most serious of several criminal charges he has faced at multiple trials since April.

He was sentenced in January to five years for lesser crimes related to his martial law attempt.

Who said what

Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Yoon, “saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available,” The Associated Press said. But “most analysts” expected a life sentence “since the poorly planned power grab did not result in casualties.” The Seoul court also handed down a 30-year sentence to Yoon’s defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, and lesser prison terms to other former military and police officials who helped implement the martial law decree.

The verdict “will offer closure to many South Koreans who are exhausted by the tumultuous period” set off by Yoon’s threat to end the “decades of democracy they had won through great sacrifice after years of military rule,” The New York Times said. But it is “unlikely to heal divisions in a deeply polarized country where the former president still has a sizable base of loyal supporters.”

What next?

Yoon has a week to appeal the ruling, but his lawyers said they would consult with their client before challenging what they viewed as a rigged verdict. A lawyer for Kim said the former defense minister would “of course appeal.”