Ousted South Korean President Yoon appeals life sentence for martial law decree

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeals his life sentence for rebellion related to a brief martial law decree.

South Korea’s jailed former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has appealed his life sentence for rebellion over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024, his lawyers said on Tuesday (February 24, 2026).

The conservative leader, who faces multiple trials over his power grab, expressed defiance following his conviction at the Seoul Central District Court last week. He called the decision illogical, said his actions were “solely for the sake of the nation and our people,” and accused the judge of being biased against him.

In a text message, Yoon’s lawyers said they aimed to address the supposed “errors in fact-finding and misinterpretations of the law” contained in last Thursday’s (February 19) ruling. The case will now be sent to a specialised panel at a Seoul High Court established under a law passed in December to handle cases involving rebellion, treason and foreign subversion.

“We will never be silent about what we view as an excessive indictment by a special prosecutor, the contradictory judgment rendered by the lower court based on that premise, and its political circumstances,” Yoon’s legal team said.

Yoon’s martial law decree, announced late at night on December 3, 2024, lasted about six hours until a quorum of lawmakers broke through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers and police at the National Assembly. They then voted to overturn it, forcing his Cabinet to lift the measure.

Yoon was suspended from office on December 14, 2024, after being impeached by the liberal-led legislature and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He was re-arrested in July and now faces eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle and other allegations, with the rebellion charge carrying the heaviest punishment.