Top Stories 26/02/19 South Korea ex-president Yoon gets life in prison for insurrection

[성기화 요셉]

Judge said he dispatched troops to the assembly building in an effort to silence his political opponents

South Korea's former impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol (R) arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul on July 9, 2025. (Photo: AFP)

By AFP, Seoul

Published: February 19, 2026 04:33 AM GMT

Updated: February 19, 2026 09:47 AM GMT

A South Korean court found ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of insurrection on Feb. 19 and sentenced him to life in prison, saying his martial law declaration in December 2024 was a plot to "paralyse" the National Assembly.

Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised address in December 2024, saying drastic measures were needed to root out "anti-state forces."

Presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon said Yoon dispatched troops to the assembly building in an effort to silence his political opponents.

"The Court finds that the intention was to paralyse the assembly for a considerable period," Ji told Seoul Central District Court.

"The declaration of martial law resulted in enormous social costs, and it is difficult to find any indication that the defendant has expressed remorse for that," the judge said.

"We sentence Yoon to life imprisonment."

Prosecutors had sought the harshest penalty on the insurrection charges, urging the Seoul Central District Court to put Yoon on death row during hearings in January.

South Korea has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment — the last prisoners were executed in 1997 — with a death sentence effectively banishing Yoon to life behind bars.

Long seen as a shining light of stable democracy in Asia, Yoon's failed bid to seize power stirred unpleasant memories of the military coups that jolted the nation between 1960 and 1980.

Yoon has been held in solitary confinement while fighting multiple criminal trials.

The 65-year-old hardline conservative, was impeached, arrested and charged with a litany of crimes ranging from insurrection to obstruction of justice.

He has consistently denied wrongdoing, arguing he acted to "safeguard freedom" and restore constitutional order against what he called an opposition-led "legislative dictatorship."

Prosecutors accused him of leading an "insurrection" driven by a "lust for power aimed at dictatorship and long-term rule".

Life, or death row

Under South Korean law, only two sentences are fit for insurrection: life imprisonment or death.

A legal observer said the court would most likely sentence Yoon to life in prison.

"In rare occasions, a judge could deliver what's legally known as a 'discretionary mitigation,' handing down a sentence lighter than the minimum penalty set by law if they believe it is warranted," attorney Yoo Jung-hoon said.

"But Yoon has neither pleaded guilty nor expressed remorse, so it will be hard for the panel of judges to give him anything lighter than a life term."

He has already been sentenced to five years in prison on lesser charges, while a host of senior officials also face hefty prison terms.

Yoon broke into 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 six hours later after lawmakers raced to the assembly building to hold an emergency vote.

Staffers barricaded the doors with office furniture to keep armed troops at bay.

The declaration triggered flash protests, sent the stock market into panic and caught key military allies such as the United States off guard.

Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to 20 months' jail earlier in January on unrelated charges stemming from bribes she took while first lady.