The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of leading an insurrection through his Dec. 3, 2024 emergency martial law decree. The court ruled that while declaring martial law does not automatically constitute insurrection, it becomes criminal if intended to paralyze constitutional institutions.

Judges found that Yoon deployed troops to the National Assembly to obstruct its functions and sought to detain key political figures, satisfying the Criminal Act’s requirements of intent to subvert the constitutional order and commission of a riot. The court cited mitigation factors including Yoon’s