South Korea’s former President Yoon sentenced to five years: What we know

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has received a five-year jailhouse condemnation aft being recovered blameworthy of aggregate charges, including attempts to artifact his apprehension aft his failed determination to enforce martial instrumentality connected the state successful December 2024.

Yoon was sentenced astatine the Seoul Central District Court connected Friday successful televised proceedings of 1 of the country’s astir delicate governmental trials successful caller history.

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But this is lone the archetypal sentencing successful respective tribunal cases the arguable ex-leader is facing since helium was impeached and detained pursuing wide demonstrations against his authorities from precocious 2024. In different case, helium could beryllium facing a decease condemnation if helium is recovered blameworthy of charges of insurrection.

Yoon was the archetypal sitting president successful South Korean past to beryllium arrested and indicted. His short-lived medication was plagued by disapproval and mediocre ratings. However, his astonishment martial instrumentality announcement sent shockwaves done the antiauthoritarian country, and astir the world, triggering a melodramatic governmental saga.

Yoon’s lawyers accidental the erstwhile president volition entreaty the court’s ruling.

Here’s what we cognize astir Yoon’s authorities and the latest sentence:

South Korea’s impeached erstwhile President Yoon Suk Yeol, centre, arrives astatine a tribunal to be a proceeding to reappraisal his apprehension warrant requested by peculiar prosecutors, successful Seoul connected July 9, 2025 [AFP]

What has the tribunal ruled?

A three-justice sheet astatine Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to 5 years aft uncovering him blameworthy of respective charges connected Friday.

These were: infringing connected investigators’ rights to deliberate connected his martial instrumentality imposition; obstructing justness by evading his apprehension successful January 2025; and fabricating authoritative documents relating to his December 2024 martial instrumentality declaration.

In the ruling, Presiding Judge Baek Dee-hyun said martial instrumentality could lone beryllium imposed successful exceptional circumstances and that the president was required to consult with his furniture earlier making a pronouncement.

“But Yoon, successful an unprecedented manner, notified lone immoderate Cabinet members of the gathering connected the proclamation of martial law, thereby straight violating the Constitution and infringing the deliberation rights of Cabinet members who were not notified,” the justice said, according to reporting by the nationalist newspaper, Korea Times.

Yoon besides mobilised information forces of the Presidential Security Service to artifact his arrest, which had been ordered by the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) connected January 3, 2025, aft parliament voted to impeach him, the tribunal ruled.

“The suspect abused his tremendous power arsenic president to forestall the execution of morganatic warrants done officials from the Security Service, which efficaciously privatised officials … for idiosyncratic information and idiosyncratic gain,” Judge Baek said.

To marque it look arsenic though procedural requirements had been met erstwhile helium declared martial instrumentality connected December 3, Yoon tampered with the day and signatures connected an important document, which had really been created later, connected December 7, the tribunal found.

Outside the court, Yoo Jung-Hwa, a lawyer representing Yoon, told reporters the ruling was “politicised” and that the ex-president would appeal.

In this record photograph taken aboriginal connected December 4, 2024, soldiers effort to participate the National Assembly gathering successful Seoul, aft past South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial instrumentality [File: AFP]

Who is Yoon Suk Yeol?

By profession, Yoon, 65, is simply a lawyer. He served arsenic the country’s president from May 2022 until his authoritative removal successful April 2025.

He was an instrumental authoritative successful the trials of erstwhile Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak. Their convictions brought him to the announcement of left-wing governmental parties, and saw him appointed arsenic authoritative wide from 2019 to 2021 by the left-leaning Moon Jae-in administration.

However, erstwhile helium launched investigations into that government, which prompted astatine slightest 1 curate to resign, Yoon besides gained designation with conservatives. Generally, helium had wide entreaty and was viewed arsenic a no-nonsense, principled lawyer loyal lone to the law.

In the 2022 statesmanlike elections, Yoon ran arsenic the campaigner for the blimpish People Power Party, promising economical deregulation and, controversially, anti-feminist policies, specified arsenic scrapping the sex ministry. He narrowly won against the absorption Democratic Party of Korea, but his medication was expected to unite some sides. Instead, Yoon’s authorities leaned further to the right, clashing with the absorption left, which controlled parliament.

In particular, helium was criticised for his government’s handling of the Seoul Halloween assemblage crush calamity successful October 2022, which killed much than 150 radical successful the superior and plunged the state into mourning, and for its clashes with the Korean Medical Association, which blamed the authorities for raising quotas for aesculapian students alternatively than reforming the wellness assemblage to payment practising professionals.

Yoon’s support ratings dropped during his term. Varying polls showed an support complaint of astir 52 percent erstwhile helium was archetypal elected successful May 2022, compared with astir 36 percent by December 2024.

Parliamentary elections 2 years into his medication saw his NPP enactment further suffer ground, hindering the advancement of Yoon’s fund policies.

What was the martial instrumentality crisis?

On the nighttime of December 3, 2024, Yoon shocked South Korea and the satellite erstwhile helium imposed martial law, citing the request “to support the state from North Korea communists and destruct anti-state elements”.

Yoon further accused absorption politicians of being an “anti-state … den of criminals” who were “trying to overthrow the escaped democracy” by blocking his fund plans. He asserted a request to “rebuild and support the state from falling into ruin”.

When parliamentarians attempted to convene, Yoon ordered troops to blockade the National Assembly and apprehension absorption leaders.

Legislators managed, however, to participate the gathering and voted to assistance the martial instrumentality aft midnight connected December 4, conscionable hours aft it was declared.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets successful protest, calling for Yoon to measurement down.

On December 7, Yoon apologised to the federation for the martial law, calling it “an enactment of governance”. Parliament voted to impeach him connected December 14, suspending his powers arsenic president.

He past holed himself up successful the statesmanlike palace and refused to respond to a summons by the CIO, an bureau investigating crimes committed by elder authorities officials.

Security forces from the CIO attempted to  participate the premises connected January 3, but were blocked by information units inactive loyal to Yoon. On a 2nd effort connected January 15, aft much than 3,000 troops were deployed for the mission, Yoon was arrested and is inactive successful detention.

Yoon’s word was formally terminated connected April 4 erstwhile the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment.

South Korea, which prides itself connected being a unchangeable democracy, past experienced martial instrumentality successful 1979, aft subject person Chun Doo-hwan seized powerfulness successful a coup.

Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol signifier a rally to reason his impeachment adjacent the Constitutional Court successful Seoul, South Korea, connected Thursday, April 3, 2025. The signs work ‘Yoon Suk Yeol’s contiguous return’ [Ahn Young-joon/AP]

What different trials does Yoon face?

In all, Yoon has been indicted successful 4 transgression cases, ranging from the much superior complaint of starring an insurrection to violating run laws during his governmental election.

Insurrection

Yoon was indicted for insurrection successful January 2025, aft parliament had voted to impeach him, but earlier the Constitutional Court approved the move.

The insurrection complaint is successful transportation with the actions Yoon took connected December 3, 2024, to seal disconnected the National Assembly and forestall lawmakers who wanted to artifact his martial instrumentality decree from entering. The complaint besides relates to his orders that the talker and absorption leaders beryllium arrested.

Yoon has repeatedly claimed that helium did not mean to enforce subject rule. He says did truthful to dependable the alarm astir wrongdoing by absorption parties and to support ideology from “anti-state” elements.

His defence squad besides argues that the CIO has nary authorization to analyse him and that, arsenic president, helium was wrong his rights to state martial instrumentality due to the fact that determination was an emergency.

Yoon’s lawyers utilized the aforesaid defence during Friday’s trial, but that was dismissed by the tribunal – perchance mounting a enactment for the insurrection case.

The insurrection proceedings began connected January 9, and the tribunal is scheduled to regularisation connected it connected February 19.

On Tuesday, prosecutors astatine a closed proceeding sought the decease condemnation for Yoon. While the decease punishment is ineligible successful South Korea, determination person been nary executions since 1997.

Former subject person Chun Doo-hwan, who seized powerfulness successful a 1979 coup and ruled until 1988, was convicted successful 1996 connected respective charges, including insurrection for orchestrating a coup and declaring martial instrumentality to suppress pro-democracy protests.

He was handed a decease sentence, which was commuted to beingness imprisonment. But 2 years later, Chun was pardoned.

Espionage

Separately, Yoon volition besides reply to charges of treason successful an ongoing proceedings which began connected Monday.

In that case, helium is accused of aiding an force authorities and was indicted connected the complaint of treason successful November.

Former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and the erstwhile quality chief, Yeo In-hyung, person besides been indicted connected the aforesaid charge.

Prosecutors impeach Yoon and his aides of trying to instigate a subject situation with North Korea by ordering a drone incursion into Pyongyang successful October 2024.

The plan, prosecutors allege, was to goad North Korea into retaliating truthful that Yoon could enforce and warrant martial law.

The drone dispatch leaked subject secrets to North Korea erstwhile it crashed adjacent Pyongyang, prosecutors say. The clang itself constituted a usurpation of nationalist information laws, they submitted.

Prosecutors besides presented a memo recovered connected erstwhile quality main Yeo’s telephone arsenic cardinal grounds of intent to perpetrate espionage.

In a enactment to himself, they allege that Yeo wrote: “… we indispensable either make instability oregon exploit instability erstwhile it arises.”

Yoon and his aides look a maximum beingness imprisonment nether Korean law, oregon a minimum of 3 years, if recovered blameworthy of this charge.