Yoon Suk-yeol sentenced to 5 years in prison

A court in South Korea sentenced former President Yoon Suk-yeol to five years in prison. The verdict was delivered on charges of conspiring with the former defense minister and other high-ranking officials, whom the court claimed attempted to organize a rebellion and undermine the country's constitutional order. During the trial, the court noted that in December 2024, Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law without the existence of war or an emergency of comparable scale, which the court assessed as part of a deliberate plan to alter the constitutional system.

Position of Yoon's camp: The verdict also resulted from a detailed investigation, which included numerous references to alleged agreements between Yoon Suk-yeol and senior officials. The court found that these agreements violated the country's national security laws.

Context

Yoon Suk-yeol served as President of South Korea from 2017 to 2021.