South Korea’s ex-president Yoon sentenced to life in prison for insurrection

South China Morning Post · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A South Korean court on Thursday found former president Yoon Suk-yeol guilty of insurrection and sentenced him to life in prison over his short-lived martial law decree that plunged the country into its most serious constitutional crisis in decades.The verdict, delivered by a three-judge panel of the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 25, was the harshest and most consequential ruling yet stemming from Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law on December 3, 2024, and the events leading up to it.The court found that Yoon and his co-conspirators, including former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, committed insurrection by ordering troops and police to surround the opposition-controlled National Assembly as part of the martial law operation.“Sending military troops to the National Assembly to occupy it, arrest lawmakers and stop its functions constitutes a crime of insurrection,” senior judge Ji Gui-yeon said.Supporters of impeached former president Yoon shout slogans as they rally outside the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday. Photo: EPAKim received a 30-year sentence for “playing a key role” in the insurrection masterminded by Yoon. Former military intelligence commander Noh Sang-won received 18 years, while former National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Ji-ho was sentenced to 12 years.