Former SKorean Pres. Sentenced to Life 02/19 06:16

   

   SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was 
found guilty of leading an insurrection on Thursday and sentenced to life in 
prison for his brief imposition of martial law in 2024, a ruling that marks a 
dramatic culmination of the country's biggest political crisis in decades.

   The conservative leader was ousted from office after he declared martial law 
and sent troops to surround the National Assembly on Dec. 3, 2024, in a 
baffling attempt to overcome a legislature controlled by his liberal opponents.

   Judge Jee Kui-youn of the Seoul Central District Court said he found Yoon, 
65, guilty of rebellion for mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal 
attempt to seize the Assembly, arrest political opponents and establish 
unchecked power for an indefinite period.

   Martial law crisis recalled dictatorial past

   Yoon's martial law imposition, the first of its kind in more than four 
decades, recalled South Korea's past military-backed governments when 
authorities occasionally proclaimed emergency decrees that allowed them to 
station soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles on streets or in public places 
such as schools to prevent anti-government demonstrations.

   As lawmakers rushed to the National Assembly, Yoon's martial law command 
issued a proclamation declaring sweeping powers, including suspending political 
activities, controlling the media and publications, and allowing arrests 
without warrants.

   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 Dec. 14, 2024, after being impeached by 
lawmakers and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. 
He has been under arrest since last July while facing multiple criminal trials, 
with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe punishment.

   Yoon's lawyers reject conviction

   An expressionless Yoon gazed straight ahead as the judge delivered the 
sentence in the same courtroom where former military rulers and presidents have 
been convicted of treason, corruption and other crimes over the decades.

   Yoon Kap-keun, one of the former president's lawyers, accused the judge of 
issuing a "predetermined verdict" based solely on prosecutors' arguments and 
said the "rule of law" had collapsed. He said he would discuss whether to 
appeal with his client and the rest of the legal team.

   Former President Yoon claimed in court that the martial law decree was only 
meant to raise public awareness of how the liberals were paralyzing state 
affairs, and that he was prepared to respect lawmakers if they voted against 
the measure.

   Prosecutors said it was clear Yoon was attempting to disable the legislature 
and prevent lawmakers from lifting the measure through voting, actions that 
exceeded his constitutional authority even under martial law.

   The court also convicted and sentenced five former military and police 
officials involved in enforcing Yoon's martial law decree. They included 
ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, who received a 30-year jail term for his 
central role in planning the measure, mobilizing the military and instructing 
military counterintelligence officials to arrest 14 key politicians, including 
National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik and current liberal President Lee Jae 
Myung.

   In announcing Yoon and Kim's verdicts, Jee said the decision to send troops 
to the National Assembly was key to his determination that the imposition of 
martial law amounted to rebellion.

   "This court finds that the purpose of (Yoon's) actions was to send troops to 
the National Assembly, block the Assembly building and arrest key figures, 
including the National Assembly speaker and the leaders of both the ruling and 
opposition parties, in order to prevent lawmakers from gathering to deliberate 
or vote," Jee said. "It's sufficiently established that he intended to obstruct 
or paralyze the Assembly's activities so that it would be unable to properly 
perform its functions for a considerable period of time."

   Protesters rally outside court

   As Yoon arrived in court, hundreds of police officers watched closely as 
Yoon supporters rallied outside a judicial complex, their cries rising as the 
prison bus transporting him drove past. Yoon's critics gathered nearby, 
demanding the death penalty.

   There were no immediate reports of major clashes following the verdict.

   A special prosecutor had demanded the death penalty for Yoon Suk Yeol, 
saying his actions posed a threat to the country's democracy and deserved the 
most serious punishment available, but most analysts had expected a life 
sentence since the poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties.

   South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is 
widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its 
abolition.

   Jung Chung-rae, leader of the liberal Democratic Party, which led the push 
to impeach and remove Yoon, expressed regret that the court stopped short of 
the death penalty, saying the ruling reflected a "lack of a sense of justice."

   Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the conservative People Power Party, to which 
Yoon once belonged, issued a public apology, saying the party feels a "deep 
sense of responsibility" for the disruption to the nation.

   The office of current President Lee Jae Myung did not immediately comment on 
the ruling.

   Other officials sentenced for enforcing martial law

   Last month, Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison for resisting arrest, 
fabricating the martial law proclamation and sidestepping a legally mandated 
full Cabinet meeting before declaring the measure.

   The Seoul Central Court had previously convicted two other members of Yoon's 
Cabinet in connection with the martial law debacle. That includes Prime 
Minister Han Duck-soo, who received a 23-year prison sentence for attempting to 
legitimize the decree by forcing it through a Cabinet Council meeting, 
falsifying records and lying under oath. Han has appealed the verdict.

   Yoon is the first former South Korean president to receive a life sentence 
since former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who was sentenced to death in 
1996 for his 1979 coup, a bloody 1980 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 
Gwangju that left more than 200 people dead or missing, and corruption.

   The Supreme Court later reduced his sentence to life imprisonment, and he 
was released in late 1997 under a special presidential pardon. He died in 2021.