What to know about the trial of South Korea’s ousted leader
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Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol (centre) imposed a brief martial law in December 2024, during which he banned all political activities.
PHOTO: EPA
Yan Zhuang
A South Korean court on Feb 19 sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment
Yoon’s actions plunged South Korea into a constitutional crisis and he was later impeached and ousted
Here’s what to know:
What is Yoon accused of?
Yoon, 65, has been on trial since April 2025 on a series of criminal charges stemming from his martial law declaration
Prosecutors argued that Yoon’s decision to ban all political activities and order the armed forces to seize the National Assembly amounted to an insurrection.
They accused him of conspiring with the military commanders and police chiefs to detain his enemies, including the Speaker of the Assembly and opposition leaders.
South Korea’s criminal code allows only two punishments for the insurrection charge: The death penalty or life imprisonment. Prosecutors had demanded the former
Yoon denied the insurrection charge throughout his trial.
He said he had declared martial law as “a warning” against an obstructive opposition, and he described the legislature as a “den of criminals” who used their parliamentary power to paralyse his government.
He had never intended to neutralise the legislature or arrest political leaders, he said.
On Feb 19, when handing down the guilty verdict, Presiding Judge Ji Gwiyeon said this claim was contradicted by the fact that military troops and police officers were under orders to arrest Yoon’s political enemies.
The judge said Yoon disrupted constitutional order and caused a riot.
What happened after his martial law declaration?
Yoon’s decree banned all political activities and placed the news media under military control. Armed troops were sent to take over the National Assembly and the National Election Commission.
But he was forced to withdraw it after six hours. Citizens who saw his declaration on TV rushed to the National Assembly and blocked the soldiers while lawmakers gathered inside and voted down his decree in the middle of the night.
Yoon’s actions set off the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
He was impeached by the National Assembly on Dec 14
He was formally expelled from office in April. NYTIMES
