Former South Korean Leader Moves High Court After Life Sentence for Rebellion

Jailed former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has filed an appeal against his life sentence for rebellion following his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024, his lawyers said on Tuesday.

Yoon, who faces multiple criminal trials linked to the failed power grab, expressed defiance after his conviction by the Seoul Central District Court last week. He described the ruling as illogical , said his actions were “solely for the sake of the nation and the people,” and accused the judge of being biased.

In a statement, Yoon’s legal team said the appeal would focus on alleged “errors in fact-finding and misinterpretations of the law” in Thursday’s verdict. The case will now be reviewed by a special panel at the Seoul High Court , created under a law passed in December to handle cases involving rebellion, treason and foreign subversion.

“We will not remain silent about what we consider an excessive indictment by the special prosecutor and a contradictory judgment shaped by political circumstances,” the lawyers said.Yoon declared martial law late on December 3, 2024 , a move that lasted about six hours . Lawmakers forced their way into the National Assembly despite a blockade by heavily armed soldiers and police and voted to overturn the decree, compelling the Cabinet to lift it.

He was suspended from office on December 14, 2024 , after being impeached by the liberal-controlled legislature and was formally removed by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He was re-arrested in July and now faces eight criminal trials , with the rebellion charge carrying the most severe punishment.

Though brief, the martial law order triggered South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades , disrupting governance, rattling financial markets and stalling diplomacy. Stability returned only after opposition leader Lee Jae Myung won an early presidential election last June.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty , arguing Yoon’s actions posed a serious threat to democracy. South Korea, however, has not carried out executions since 1997. Yoon is the first former president to receive a life sentence since ex-dictator Chun Doo-hwan’s conviction in the 1990s.