South Korea Jails Ex-President for Martial Law Attempt

Clear Facts

• Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for rebellion.
• Yoon ordered military and police to surround the National Assembly in December 2024.
• Multiple officials received lengthy prison terms for their roles in the attempted insurrection.

On Thursday, a Seoul court found 65-year-old Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of orchestrating a rebellion by deploying armed forces to occupy South Korea’s legislature in December 2024. This dramatic action was aimed at consolidating his control and detaining political adversaries, as determined by Judge Jee Kui-youn.

The court ruled that Yoon’s attempt to rule by decree was the most sweeping emergency power grab in South Korea in over four decades.

During a late-night address on December 3, 2024, Yoon accused opposing parties of harboring ‘anti-state forces’ sympathetic to North Korea.

Armed troops descended on parliament by helicopter, but citizens and staff resisted, barricading themselves inside as the standoff aired live nationwide. The emergency order failed in roughly six hours, with lawmakers voting unanimously to reject it.

Yoon continued to claim innocence, stating the constitution allowed martial law and his moves were necessary against opposition obstruction.

His legal team plans to appeal the court’s decision.

Defense attorneys dismissed the proceedings as ‘a formality’ with a predetermined outcome.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik called upon Yoon to admit guilt and apologize to the South Korean public.

In addition to Yoon’s sentence, former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun received a 30-year prison term and ex-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was given 23 years for actions related to the decree.

No former president had received a life sentence since the 1996 conviction of military dictator Chun Doo-hwan. The death penalty has not been enforced in South Korea since 1997.

Read the full report at Daily Caller

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