People watch a news report on the sentencing trial of former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s treason case in December 2024, in Seoul, South Korea, on February 19, 2026. | Photo credit: Reuters
In December 2024, former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for briefly imposing martial law.
Judge Ji Kui-youn said Yoon was guilty of treason for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize control of the liberal-led National Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a “considerable” period of time.
Yoon is likely to appeal the verdict.
A special prosecutor has demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions threaten the country’s democracy and deserves the harshest punishment available, but most analysts expect a life sentence because the poorly-planned power grab did not cause casualties.
South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.
As Yoon arrived at the court, hundreds of police officers watched closely as Yoon’s supporters rallied outside the judicial complex, their cries rising as the prison bus transporting him passed by. Yoon’s critics gathered nearby demanding the death penalty.
The court also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in implementing Yun’s martial law decree, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year prison sentence for playing a central role in planning the measure and mobilizing the army.
Yun, a staunch conservative, defended his martial law decree as necessary to stop liberals from obstructing his agenda with their legislative majority, describing them as “oppositional” forces.
It lasted six hours before the decree was lifted after a quorum of legislators overcame a military blockade and unanimously voted to lift the measure.
After lawmakers were impeached, Yoon was suspended from office on December 14, 2024, and formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He has been facing several criminal trials since last July, facing the harshest possible sentence on treason charges.
Last month, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for resisting arrest, drafting a martial law declaration and skipping a legally mandated full cabinet meeting before announcing the measure.
The Seoul Central Court also convicted two members of Yoon’s cabinet in other cases. This included Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, who received a 23-year prison sentence for attempting to force the decree through a cabinet council meeting, falsifying records and perjury. Hahn appealed the verdict.
Published – February 19, 2026 01:20 pm IST
