Amman Today

publish date 2026-02-19 12:28:00

Amman – Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced Thursday to life imprisonment for briefly declaring martial law in late 2024.

“We sentence Yoon to life imprisonment” for leading a rebellion, Judge Ji Gui-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court said.

In December 2024, Yoon suddenly declared martial law, claiming that strict measures were needed to root out “anti-state forces.”

The 65-year-old conservative and extremist president was later removed from office, arrested, and charged with several charges, including rebellion and obstruction of justice.

During the trial hearings in January, prosecutors demanded the harshest punishment for the former president in the rebellion case, urging the Seoul Central District Court to impose the death sentence on him.

South Korea has an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty, with the last prisoner executed in 1997, which effectively means Yoon could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Yoon’s attempt to impose martial law brought back painful memories of the military coups between 1960 and 1980 in South Korea, which is now seen as a symbol of stable democracy in Asia.

It is expected that life in South Korea will come to a complete halt when the court issues its ruling during a live broadcast at three in the afternoon (06:00 GMT).

Yoon is being held in solitary confinement while facing multiple criminal trials.

He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claiming he acted to “protect freedom” and restore constitutional order in the face of an opposition-led “legislative dictatorship.”

The public prosecutor accused him of leading a rebellion aimed at remaining in power in a dictatorial manner.

South Korean law punishes the crime of rebellion with either life imprisonment or death.

Yoon appeared on television late on December 3, 2024 to announce the suspension of civil rule and the imposition of martial law, citing vague threats of North Korean influence and “dangerous anti-state forces.”

But martial law was soon lifted, after representatives rushed to Parliament headquarters to hold an emergency vote.

Yoon’s wife, Kim Keun-hee, was earlier sentenced to twenty months in prison on separate charges of receiving bribes while she was first lady.

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World News

Source 1 : https://www.ammonnews.net/article/980990

Source 2 : ألدستور