A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison after convicting him over the unlawful imposition of martial law, marking a historic ruling in the country’s modern political history.
The Seoul Central District Court delivered the verdict in the first judgment related to charges stemming from Yoon’s failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024. Prosecutors argued that the move constituted an arbitrary suspension of civilian rule and violated South Korea’s constitutional order.
Yoon has been in detention for several months following an unprecedented political crisis that erupted when he announced the suspension of civilian governance on December 3, 2024. The decision, the first of its kind in more than four decades, triggered widespread public protests and prompted swift parliamentary action that led to the reversal of the measure.
The court ruling adds Yoon to a list of former South Korean leaders who have faced criminal convictions after leaving office. In 1996, former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were convicted on charges of rebellion and corruption related to the 1979 military coup and its aftermath. Chun was initially sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment, while Roh received a 22-year sentence that was later reduced to 17 and a half years. Both were pardoned in 1997 by then-president Kim Young-sam.
The conviction of Yoon underscores South Korea’s long-standing precedent of holding former leaders legally accountable and highlights the judiciary’s role in safeguarding constitutional governance amid periods of political turmoil.
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