A South Korean court has sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection during his brief martial law declaration in December 2024. The dramatic six-hour episode shook one of Asia's strongest democracies and led to a series of events that ultimately landed Yoon and his wife behind bars.
SEOUL – Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol received a life prison sentence Thursday from a Seoul court for orchestrating an insurrection during his short-lived martial law declaration in December 2024.
The dramatic events began on December 3, 2024, when Yoon announced on national television just before 10:30 p.m. that he was implementing martial law to eliminate what he called “anti-state forces” and break through political gridlock.
Within an hour, military orders banned all political party activities and legislative functions. Security forces surrounded the opposition-controlled parliament building, where staff members fought back using barricades and fire extinguishers against special operations troops. Lawmakers climbed over fences to bypass security barriers as demonstrators gathered outside.
By early December 4, with 190 legislators in attendance, parliament unanimously rejected Yoon’s martial law order, prompting military forces to withdraw. Approximately 3.5 hours later, Yoon reversed his decision. The entire martial law period lasted roughly six hours.
Opposition lawmakers immediately filed impeachment proceedings against Yoon. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell stated that Yoon had “badly misjudged” his martial law decision.
On December 7, Yoon delivered a public apology to the nation, stating he would leave his political future to his ruling People Power Party (PPP), though he stopped short of announcing his resignation. An initial impeachment vote failed due to a PPP boycott that prevented the required quorum.
Criminal investigations began December 8, with prosecutors targeting Yoon over the martial law incident. Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun was taken into custody that same day.
Army Special Warfare Command leader Kwak Jong-geun testified before parliament on December 10 that Yoon had instructed him to “drag out” legislators from the parliament building following the martial law announcement.
Yoon declared he would “fight to the end” on December 12, making accusations that North Korea had infiltrated South Korea’s election systems and questioning his party’s significant electoral losses in April.
Parliament successfully impeached Yoon on December 14 with support from 204 out of 300 lawmakers, including at least 12 members from his own PPP. His presidential authority was immediately suspended, with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stepping in as acting president.
The Constitutional Court started examining the impeachment case on December 16. However, parliament also impeached acting President Han on December 27, leading Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok to assume acting presidential duties.
A Seoul court issued an arrest warrant for Yoon on December 31 after he failed to appear for questioning. Yoon’s legal team denounced the warrant as illegal and claimed investigators lacked proper authority.
Between January 3-15, 2025, authorities made unsuccessful attempts to arrest Yoon during confrontations with presidential security and military personnel at his residence. Yoon eventually surrendered after a local court extended his arrest warrant.
During his Constitutional Court impeachment hearing on January 21, Yoon refuted claims that he had ordered military leaders to remove lawmakers from parliament by force.
Prosecutors formally charged Yoon with insurrection on January 26 and requested his continued detention.
A court canceled Yoon’s arrest warrant on March 9, leading to his release from custody.
The Constitutional Court ruled on April 4 that Yoon had breached his constitutional obligations and permanently removed him from the presidency.
The liberal Democratic Party selected former leader and 2022 presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung as their nominee for the special election on April 27.
Lee won the presidency in the emergency election held June 3.
Yoon returned to jail on July 10 after a court granted the special prosecutor’s detention request.
In a historic first for South Korea, Yoon’s wife, former first lady Kim Keon Hee, was detained on August 13 following court approval of an arrest warrant, making them the first presidential couple simultaneously imprisoned in the nation’s history.
Special prosecutors charged former first lady Kim with bribery and additional offenses on August 29.
On October 10, special prosecutors indicted Han Hak-ja, head of South Korea’s Unification Church, for allegedly orchestrating bribes to former first lady Kim.
Additional charges related to the martial law incident were filed against Yoon on November 10, including accusations of assisting an enemy nation.
Special prosecutors sought a 15-year prison term for former Prime Minister Han on November 26 for allegedly supporting insurrection and committing perjury.
On December 15, special prosecutors claimed Yoon had attempted to provoke North Korea into armed conflict to validate his martial law declaration.
The special prosecutor requested the death penalty for Yoon on insurrection charges on January 13, 2026.
Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to five years in prison on January 16 for charges including obstruction of arrest attempts.
The same court imposed a 23-year sentence on former Prime Minister Han on January 21 for his central role in the insurrection.
Former first lady Kim received a 20-month jail sentence on January 28 for accepting bribes.
On February 12, Seoul Central District Court sentenced former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min to seven years in prison for his involvement in the martial law attempt.
The legal proceedings concluded Thursday with Seoul Central District Court’s life sentence for Yoon Suk Yeol for leading the insurrection.