South Korea’s Yoon calls court biased after life sentence for rebellion: ‘fight not over’

South China Morning Post · Feb 20, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Ousted South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday remained defiant in his first reaction to a life sentence for rebellion handed down by a Seoul court the previous day.In a statement released by his lawyers, Yoon maintained that his abrupt and short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024 was done “solely for the sake of the nation and our people”, and dismissed the Seoul Central District Court as biased against him.Yoon, who was removed from office amid a political crisis set off by his unsuccessful power grab, has long rejected the eight criminal cases brought against him for what prosecutors described as a coup attempt and other allegations.He barricaded himself in the presidential residence for weeks, stonewalled investigators following his arrest, and skipped court dates, while clashing with witnesses when he did appear.Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol (centre) greets supporters upon his arrival at the presidential residence in Seoul, South Korea, on March 8, 2025. Photo: Yonhap / APIn handing down his verdict on rebellion charges on Thursday, Judge Jee Kui-youn of the Seoul court said that Yoon had shown “no sign of apology for the staggering social costs incurred by the emergency martial law” and that he “refused to appear in court without any justifiable reason” several times.