South Korea’s ex-president Yoon appeals against insurrection verdict
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The martial law bid by Yoon Suk Yeol caught allies such as the US off guard.
PHOTO: WOOHAE CHO/NYTIMES
SEOUL – Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has filed an appeal against an insurrection conviction over his 2024 martial law declaration, his lawyers said on Feb 24.
The Seoul Central District Court last week found Yoon guilty of leading an insurrection designed to “paralyse” the National Assembly, sentencing him to life in prison.
Yoon initially branded the verdict “difficult to accept” but did not immediately indicate whether he would appeal.
Yoon’s legal team said on Feb 24 it would challenge the verdict.
“We believe we have a responsibility to clearly place on record the problems with this ruling – not only in the court’s records, but also before the judgment of history in the future,” his lawyers said in a statement.
They said they took issue with the prosecution’s “excessive indictment” and would take action against “the contradictory judgment rendered... based on that premise, and the political context surrounding it”.
Last week, presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon said Yoon sent troops to the National Assembly building in an effort to silence political opponents who had frustrated his attempts to govern.
“The court finds that the intention was to paralyse the assembly for a considerable period,” Judge Ji said.
Yoon was a deeply unpopular president at the time of the martial law crisis.
His party was vastly outmuscled in Parliament, which had voted to block budget measures and impeach key figures in his administration.
With support from senior military figures, Yoon dispatched troops to seize control of the assembly building and arrest critics.
The judge said Yoon “became fixated” on his belief that the opposition “could effectively neutralise the president”.
Yoon appeared on late-night TV on Dec 3, 2024, to deliver a shock address to the nation
Pointing to vague threats of North Korean influence and dangerous “anti-state forces”, he declared the suspension of civilian government and the start of military rule.
Martial law was lifted around six hours later, after lawmakers raced to the assembly building to hold an emergency vote.
The crisis triggered protests, sent the stock market into panic and caught key military allies such as the United States off guard.
Yoon was ousted in April 2025 and voters elected Mr Lee Jae Myung as president in a snap election
Yoon apologised last week for the “hardship” caused by his martial law decree, but insisted it was a measure taken “solely for the sake of the nation”. AFP
