Former South Korean President Yoon Sentenced to Five Years: What We Know | Corruption news

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of multiple charges, including attempting to prevent his arrest following a failed move to impose martial law on the country in December 2024.

Yun was sentenced at the Seoul Central District Court on Friday in televised proceedings in one of the country’s most sensitive political trials in recent history.

But this is only the first sentence in several court cases since late 2024, when he was impeached and detained following widespread protests against his government. In the second case, he could be sentenced to death if found guilty of rebellion.

Yoon was the first sitting president in South Korean history to be arrested and charged. His short-lived administration was plagued by criticism and poor ratings. However, his surprise declaration of martial law sent shockwaves across the democratic country and around the world, triggering a dramatic political saga.

Yun’s lawyers say the former president will appeal the court’s decision.

Here’s what we know about Yun’s government and the latest sentence:

What has the court decided?

A three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to five years in prison on Friday after finding him guilty of multiple charges.

These were: his deliberate violation of the powers of the investigators over the imposition of martial law; obstruction of justice by evading arrest in January 2025; and preparing official documents related to his December 2024 declaration of martial law.

In the ruling, Presidential Judge Baek Dae-hyun said that martial law could only be imposed in exceptional circumstances and that the president was required to consult with his cabinet before making the announcement.

“But Yoon, in an unprecedented manner, notified some cabinet members of the meeting about the declaration of martial law, which directly violated the constitution and violated the deliberation rights of cabinet members who were not notified,” the judge said, according to the Korea Times, a national newspaper.

The order was ordered by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) after Parliament voted to impeach him on January 3, 2025, the court ruled.

“The defendant abused his enormous influence as president to prevent the execution of lawful warrants by security service officials, effectively privatizing the authorities … for personal security and personal gain,” Judge Beck said.

To make it appear that procedural requirements had been met when he declared martial law on December 3, Yun tampered with the date and signatures on a key document that was actually prepared later on December 7.

Outside court, Yoo Jung-hwa, a lawyer representing Yoon, told reporters that the decision was “political” and that the former president would appeal.

Who is Yoon Suk Yeol?

Yun, 65, is a lawyer by profession. He served as the country’s president from May 2022 until his official ouster in April 2025.

He was a key lawyer in the trials of former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. His beliefs brought him to the attention of left-wing political parties, and he was appointed Prosecutor General from 2019 to 2021 by the leftist Moon Jae-in administration.

However, when he launched an inquiry into the government, which prompted the resignation of at least one minister, Yoon gained favor with conservatives. Generally, he had broad appeal and was seen as a no-nonsense, principled lawyer devoted only to the law.

In the 2022 presidential election, Yoon ran as a candidate for the conservative People Power Party, promising economic deregulation and controversial, anti-feminist policies, such as abolishing the Ministry of Gender. He narrowly won against the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, but his administration was expected to unite the two sides. Instead, Yun’s government leaned to the right, clashing with the leftist opposition parties that controlled parliament.

In particular, he was criticized for his government’s handling of the Seoul Halloween crowd crush tragedy in October 2022, in which more than 150 people were killed in the capital and The country plunged into griefand for clashes with the Korean Medical Association, which blamed the authorities for increasing quotas for medical students instead of reforming the health sector to benefit practicing professionals.

Yun’s approval rating plummeted during his tenure. When he was first elected in May 2022, various polls showed an approval rate of about 52 percent, up from an estimated 36 percent by December 2024.

His NPP party was defeated in parliamentary elections two years into his administration, hampering the progress of Yun’s budget policies.

What was a martial law crisis?

On the night of December 3, 2024, Yun shocked South Korea and the world when he imposed martial law, citing the need to “defend the country from North Korean communists and eliminate anti-state elements.”

Yun further accused opposition politicians of being “a den of anti-state … criminals” who are “trying to subvert free democracy” by blocking his budget plans. He asserted the need to “rebuild and protect the country from destruction”.

When members of parliament tried to convene, Yun ordered the military to blockade the National Assembly and arrest opposition leaders.

However, legislators managed to enter the building and voted to lift martial law shortly after midnight on December 4, hours after it was declared.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets calling for Yun to step down.

On December 7, Yun apologized to the country for martial law, calling it an “act of the regime”. On December 14, Parliament voted to impeach him and suspend his powers as president.

He then holed himself up in the presidential palace and refused to answer the summons of the CIO, an organization that investigates crimes committed by senior government officials.

The CIO’s security forces attempted to enter the compound on January 3, but were stopped by security units still loyal to Yun. In a second attempt on January 15, after deploying more than 3,000 troops for the mission, Yun was arrested and remains under house arrest.

Yoon’s term formally ended on April 4 after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment.

South Korea, which prides itself on being a stable democracy, last experienced martial law in 1979 when military leader Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a coup.

What other trials does Yoon face?

In all, Yun has been indicted in four criminal cases, ranging from serious charges of leading a rebellion to violating campaign laws during his political campaign.

Rebellion

Yun was charged with treason in January 2025 after parliament voted to impeach him, but before the Constitutional Court approved the move.

The rebellion charge is related to Yun’s actions to seal the National Assembly on December 3, 2024, and prevent lawmakers from entering his martial law decree. The allegation also relates to his order to arrest the Speaker and opposition leaders.

Yun has repeatedly claimed that he did not intend to impose military rule. They say it did so to raise alarm bells about the misdeeds of opposition parties and to protect democracy from “anti-state” elements.

His defense team also argued that the CIO had no authority to investigate him and that, as president, he was within his powers to declare martial law as it was an emergency.

Yun’s lawyers used a similar defense during Friday’s trial, but it was rejected by the court – potentially setting the stage for a treason trial.

The mutiny trial began on January 9 and the court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on February 19.

On Tuesday, in a closed hearing, prosecutors sought the death penalty for Yoon. Although the death penalty is legal in South Korea, it has not been carried out since 1997.

Former military leader Chun Doo-hwan, who seized power in a 1979 coup and ruled until 1988, was indicted in 1996 on multiple charges, including inciting a rebellion and declaring martial law to suppress pro-democracy protests.

He was sentenced to death, which was commuted to life imprisonment. But two years later, Chun was pardoned.

espionage

Separately, Yoon will answer to sedition charges in an ongoing trial that began on Monday.

In that case, he was accused of aiding and abetting an enemy state Guilty Charged with sedition in November.

Former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former intelligence chief Yeo In-hyung are also indicted in the same indictment.

Prosecutors accused Yun and his aides of trying to provoke a military crisis with North Korea by ordering a drone incursion into Pyongyang in October 2024.

Prosecutors allege the plan was to provoke North Korea into retaliating so that Yun could invoke and justify martial law.

Dispatch of drones leaked military secrets to North Korea when it crashed near Pyongyang, lawyers say. He submitted that it was an accident that violated national security laws.

Prosecutors also presented a memo found on former intelligence chief Yeo’s phone as key evidence of intent to spy.

In a note to himself, he alleged that Yeo wrote: “… we must either create instability or exploit instability when it occurs.”

Yoon and his aides face a maximum sentence of life in prison or a minimum of three years under Korean law if convicted of the charges.