Impeached ex-president appeals life sentence over martial law debacle

by Lee Hugh Posted : February 24, 2026, 14:55Updated : February 24, 2026, 14:55
Yonhap
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his trial at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital on Feb. 19, 2026. Yonhap
SEOUL, February 24 (AJP) - Disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday filed an appeal of his life sentence on charges of insurrection and abuse of power related to his martial law debacle in December 2024.

It comes about a week after the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty of the botched Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, which it ruled was an act of insurrection in violation of the Constitution, condemning his actions as having "fundamentally undermined the core values of democracy."

Yoon's legal representatives argued last Thursday's ruling was riddled with factual and legal errors. "We have a responsibility to clearly point out the problems with it, not only for court records but for future historical records," they said in a statement.

They also vowed to fight what they called the prosecutors' "excessive indictment," which they claimed was politically motivated.

Prosecutors also appealed the case earlier in the day.

Yoon, who was ousted from the presidency on April 4 last year after the Constitutional Court of Korea unanimously upheld his impeachment, had already been sentenced last month to five years in prison in a separate trial on one of several charges related to the debacle.