Reap what you sow
Published: 19 Feb. 2026, 20:30
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been found guilty of leading an insurrection as an incumbent president, the first such sentence in Korean history, and sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. The sentence came 443 days after Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, an act that the court recognized as an insurrection, however unsuccessful it may have been. The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 25 — presided over by Judge Ji Gwi-yeon — sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court found that the declaration of emergency martial law satisfied the elements of insurrection: creating violence for the purpose of subverting the Constitution.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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