A South Korean court kicked off a closely watched ruling for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on insurrection charges in a criminal case that could see him sentenced to death over his shock declaration of martial law in 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court’s hearing on Thursday afternoon caps a yearlong trial that began shortly after Yoon’s ill-fated attempt to put the country under military rule. Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for the ousted leader, citing the threat he posed to the country’s democracy and constitutional order. He could also be sentenced to life in prison.
Yoon, 65, arrived at the near-packed courtroom just minutes before the hearing was scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. Seoul time, wearing a dark blue jacket and a shirt. With the court also set to rule on the fate of Yoon and seven other defendants, the judges’ ruling is expected to last about two hours.
Yoon was indicted last year on charges of insurrection following his decision to suspend civilian rule, a move that triggered the nation’s worst constitutional crisis in decades. The short-lived decree ultimately led to his impeachment and the first-ever arrest and indictment of a sitting president of South Korea.
Police buses ringed the courthouse as authorities tightened security in the area, with a heavy police presence. Hours before the court, dozens of Yoon supporters gathered outside the court compound, calling for his acquittal.
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The verdict is likely to revive memories of the protests that followed Yoon’s attempt to impose the martial law and his efforts to barricade himself from police seeking his arrest. Streets leading to his official residence were blocked for weeks by supporters and opponents despite sub-zero temperatures in Seoul at the time. While most demonstrations were largely peaceful, some Yoon backers stormed a courthouse.
Many former South Korean presidents have been prosecuted and jailed after leaving office. But Yoon is the first ex-leader in decades to face the prospect of a death sentence, even though it would be largely symbolic as the country hasn’t carried out any executions since 1997.
On online predictions site Polymarket, 94% of wagers were for Yoon being handed more than 30 years in jail, with just 2% of people predicting he would be let off.
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Yoon can appeal the ruling. Any appeal would proceed to a higher court and could take months to resolve.
A former top prosecutor, Yoon rose to the presidency promising to revive a Covid-hit economy and take a more hawkish stance on North Korea and China. But his political gamble cut his tenure short and paved the way for elections, in which the more progressive President Lee Jae Myung swept to power.
A harsh punishment for Yoon may give Lee more room to focus on his policy agenda while the main opposition People Power Party grapples with the latest fallout from the martial law fiasco. Yet Lee also needs bipartisan support as he tries to heal a divided nation and protect the export-reliant economy from President Donald Trump’s tariff pressure.
Thursday’s ruling is one in a series of legal battles underway related to martial law. Last month, the court sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to 23 years in prison for his involvement in the declaration, significantly longer than the 15-year term sought by prosecutors.
Yoon has denied any wrongdoing, saying his declaration was a desperate bid to counter what he claimed were North Korea sympathizers trying to paralyze his administration. At the final hearing in January, he said that public opposition to his impeachment made him feel the “emergency alarm” he sounded had been effective.
Yoon was already sentenced in January to five years in prison, in a separate case involving other charges including resisting arrest. Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, was also handed down a 20-month prison sentence in a bribery case last month.
That makes her and her husband the first former first couple set to serve prison sentences simultaneously over corruption and other charges in the nation’s history.
