South Korea ruling party claims ex-President Yoon’s life sentence falls short of expectations

SEOUL – A life sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol falls short of expectations and stems from a misinterpretation of the situation, the ruling bloc claimed on Feb 19, following the Seoul Central District Court’s verdict.

The court sentenced Yoon to life in prison in his trial for insurrection charges. Under South Korean law, life imprisonment and death sentences are the only sentences for those found guilty of insurrection.

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae claimed that the Seoul Central District Court’s ruling stems from a misinterpretation of how Yoon’s self-coup attempt failed, and that it leaves the possibility of Yoon’s sentence being commuted or of Yoon being granted clemency in the future.

About 30 minutes after the verdict, Mr Jung said it “posed a disruption of the criminal justice system” because it could not impose capital punishment on Yoon.

He continued, saying the ruling also “disregarded the spirit of the revolution of light”, and that the court failed to recognise that public resistance was what stopped Yoon’s martial law in December 2024.

While the court upheld the prosecution’s charges that imposing martial law and events that followed were an act of insurrection, the court sentenced Yoon to life.

It cited the apparent lack of meticulous planning leading to ultimate failure, and took into consideration Yoon’s age and his lack of a criminal record. Yoon is 65 years old.

National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik echoed Mr Jung, saying it was “regrettable” that Yoon was sentenced to life in prison.

Mr Woo, with his gavel, passed the resolution to lift martial law on the night of the Yoon-led insurrection.

“It is regrettable to see that the failure of Yoon’s insurrection became a mitigating factor,” Mr Woo told reporters. “It failed not because (insurrection forces) lacked preparation, but because the National Assembly and the people joined forces to resist it.”

Minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk, on his YouTube channel on Feb 19, pointed out that justice was sought against Yoon but added that the Parliament needs extra legislative efforts to prevent him from being granted a presidential pardon anytime in the future.

“Now, it is necessary to revise the law to prohibit presidential pardons for insurrection criminals or impose a new requirement to approve their pardons only with the consent of the National Assembly,” Mr Cho said.

South Korea has sentenced previous presidents to death only to later grant clemency. Coup leader-turned-president Chun Doo-hwan was handed down a death sentence in 1996 before it was commuted to life in 1997.

He was later pardoned by former president Kim Young-sam.

Meanwhile, Mr Jung of the Democratic Party claimed the ruling on Feb 19 was an indication that a new special counsel investigation should be launched.

Retired chief Noh Sang-won of the Army Defense Intelligence Command was sentenced on Feb 12 to 18 years for joining Yoon’s insurrection.

The court found that the writings in his notebook, which the prosecutors claimed had detailed the alleged plan to provoke North Korea in the wake of martial law, were incomprehensible and therefore could not serve as evidence against insurrectionists, including Yoon.

“The Democratic Party will do its utmost to uncover the truth about Noh’s notebook through an (upcoming) second special counsel investigation and ensure that insurrection leader Yoon receives the maximum sentence possible,” Mr Jung said.

“If Noh’s plan were executed as planned, as described in the notebook, no one here would have been alive,” Mr Jung added.

The main opposition People Power Party, of which Yoon was a member, responded to the ruling with an apology.

People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog apologised in a statement released on Feb 19, expressing regret that a former president affiliated with his party had been sentenced on insurrection charges.

He added that the conservative party will work to sever ties with forces that threaten constitutional orders. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK