South Korea's former president Yoon sentenced to life in prison for imposing martial law in December 2024
發佈日期: 2026-02-19 20:43
TVB News
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison for his brief imposition of martial law in a dramatic culmination to the country's biggest political crisis in decades.
Yoon fell from grace after an ill-advised attempt to overcome an opposition-controlled legislature by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the legislature on December 3rd, 2024.
A crowd gathered outside the court Thursday morning ahead of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's sentencing. Not long after, a bus believed to be carrying Yoon arrived at the court.
Inside the court, Judge Jee Kui-youn found Yoon guilty of rebellion for mobilising military and police forces in an illegal attempt to seize the liberal-led National Assembly, arrest politicians and establish unchecked power for a considerable time. Yoon was sentenced to life in prison. Yoon is likely to appeal the verdict.
A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions posed a threat to the country's democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available.
But most analysts had expected the life sentence since the poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties.
The court also convicted and sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon's martial law decree, including ex-Defence Minister Kim Yong Hyun who received a 30-year jail term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilising the military.
The decree lasted about six hours before being lifted after a quorum of lawmakers managed to break through a military blockade and unanimously voted to lift the measure.
Yoon was suspended from office on December 14th 2024 after being impeached and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He had been under arrest since last July while facing multiple trials.
