Yoon Suk Yeol previously told the court it was within presidential powers to call for a state of emergency and that doing so cannot constitute an insurrection.
A court on Feb. 19 found former South Korean President Yoon Sook Yeol guilty on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating an insurrection in relation to his failed attempt at imposing martial law in December 2024.
Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon, 65, to life imprisonment. He is likely to stay at the Seoul Detention Center, the prison where he has been detained.
The crime of insurrection carries a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, a sentence that has not been carried out in South Korea since 1997, following the introduction of a moratorium on capital punishment in 1998.
Seven other defendants, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former top police officials, were also sentenced alongside him.
Judge Jee Kui-youn told the courtroom that Yoon had conspired with Kim Yong-hyun to subvert the country’s constitution by deploying troops to the National Assembly to halt its parliamentary activities.
“It is the court’s judgment that sending armed troops to parliament … and using equipment to try to make arrests all constitute acts of insurrection,” Jee said, speaking for the panel of three judges.
Yoon denied the charges.
The former president had attempted to impose martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, but backed down after six hours amid public protest and after parliament voted to overturn the decree. Yoon said at the time that he was seeking to protect the constitution because the opposition, which controlled the parliament, was sympathetic to communists and North Korea.
Yoon had previously told the court it was within his presidential powers to call for a state of emergency and that doing so could not constitute an insurrection.
Lawyers for Yoon said they would discuss with him whether to appeal the ruling.
Kim Yong-hyun received 30 years in prison. A lawyer for the former defense minister said his client would “of course appeal.”
