Former South Korean President Yoon faces verdict on rebellion charges

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived at a Seoul court on Thursday to face a verdict on charges of rebellion for his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.

It's the most serious charge the ousted leader faces after setting off the country's most serious political crisis in decades by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the legislature on Dec. 3, 2024.

A special prosecutor has demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available.

Most analysts have predicted a life sentence for Yoon, as his 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.

Seoul Central District Court Judge Jee Kui-youn was expected to deliver the verdict and sentence on Thursday.

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.

The Seoul court will also rule on the cases of seven former military and police officials who are accused of enforcing Yoon’s martial law decree, including his ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun.

Yoon, a staunch conservative, has defended his martial law decree as necessary to stop liberals, whom he described as “anti-state” forces, from obstructing his agenda with their legislative majority.

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.

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 has also convicted two of Yoon’s Cabinet members, including 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.