Published On 9/7/2026
On Thursday, South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld a 7-year prison sentence on former President Yoon Suk-yul, in the first case to reach the country’s highest court among several criminal trials to which he was subjected for his brief imposition of martial law in 2024.
The court upheld a ruling by the Seoul High Court in April, which found Yoon guilty of violating the right of Cabinet members to deliberate before declaring martial law, falsifying the official declaration to cover up the omission before later destroying it, and deploying presidential security forces to resist law enforcement efforts to illegally arrest him weeks after his impeachment.
Yoon remains in detention and did not attend the sentencing hearing, which has become final. He is still facing further trials, and has appealed his life imprisonment sentence on charges of rebellion, the most serious charge against him.
Emergency law
This ruling is consistent with the view of the Constitutional Court, which, upon removing Yoon from office in April 2025, concluded that his martial law decree lacked legal foundations and did not follow the required procedures.
While Yoon summoned 11 members of his cabinet to his office shortly before he declared martial law in a late television broadcast on December 3, 2024, several participants, including then-Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, testified that Yoon informed them of his decision unilaterally rather than inviting them to consult.
The Seoul High Court said Yoon also violated the rights of nine other members of his cabinet by not summoning them to a meeting or informing them too late.
Despite its short duration, Yoon’s declaration of martial law plunged South Korea into a political crisis, paralyzing high-level political and diplomatic life, and causing severe damage to financial markets. The crisis did not subside until his liberal rival, Lee Jae-myung, won early presidential elections in June 2025.
In addition to appealing the life sentence issued against him on charges of rebellion, Yoon is also appealing a 30-year prison sentence in a case accusing him of issuing orders to fly drones in 2024 with the aim of deliberately escalating tensions with North Korea, and creating justifiable conditions for imposing martial law at home.
While Yoon’s lawyers said that the drone flights came in response to North Korea’s launching of thousands of balloons laden with waste over the South.
In a statement, Lyon’s legal team expressed “deep regret” over today’s Supreme Court ruling, saying the judges closed an important case without adequate review.
