Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of rebellion for declaring martial law in late 2024, according to Agence France-Presse.

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

In December 2024, Yoon unexpectedly declared martial law, claiming that strict measures were needed to eradicate what he described as “anti‑state forces.”

He was later removed from office, arrested, and charged with several offenses, including rebellion and obstruction of justice.

During the trial sessions held in January, prosecutors demanded the harshest possible punishment for the former president in the rebellion case and urged the Seoul Central District Court to impose the death penalty.