Deathless sentence: South Korea's ex-president faces life in prison
Former South Korean President Yoon Seok-young is likely to be sentenced to life in prison, experts predict. He is accused of organizing a military rebellion in December 2024, for which the investigation even requested the death penalty for him, which has been tacitly banned in the republic since the end of 1997. Experts are sure that with the help of a high-profile case, the authorities want to divert people's attention from the scandals surrounding the ruling party on the eve of the elections. About what threatens the Korean ex-president and whether to expect a new political crisis in the republic — in the Izvestia article.
The first sentence of ex-president Yoon Seok-yeol
An action-packed political series with an unpredictable ending is once again unfolding in South Korea. The day before, the court of first instance sentenced former President Yoon Seok-kol to five years in prison for resisting his detention after the high-profile imposition of martial law in the country. On January 3, 2025, the presidential security service prevented the police from arresting Yoon Seok Young at his residence in Seoul. It was possible to do this only on the second attempt on January 15.
According to the Korea Herald, the prosecution requested a total of 10 years in prison for him: five years for resisting arrest, two years for revising the martial law decree after the fact, and three more for violating the rights of cabinet ministers. The decision was the first verdict against Yoon Seok-young, against whom eight criminal cases were opened.
Ousted President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Seok-yeol at the second hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, April 21, 2025
Most of them are related to the accusation of organizing a rebellion. A court hearing in this case is scheduled for February 19. A special investigation has requested the death penalty for the ex-president. They believe that by imposing martial law, Yun thus acted as the head of the rebellion in order to retain power and seize control of the judicial and legislative branches of government. Despite the fact that the option of execution cannot be ruled out, it is likely that Yoon Seok-yeol will be given a life sentence in all cases, said Konstantin Asmolov, a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the ICSA RAS.
— Five years is an additional sentence in a less significant case compared to the main sentence, which will include the death penalty or life imprisonment, depending on how the situation develops and how this punishment will be changed in higher instances. A life sentence is a very likely option. In a milder scenario, he will be given more than 30 years," he told Izvestia.
Yun Seok-yeol declared martial law in the republic on December 3, 2024, "to eradicate pro-North Korean forces and protect constitutional order." However, on the same day, parliament voted to overturn the decision, martial law was lifted a few hours later, and in April 2025, the Constitutional Court officially approved the impeachment.
The last time capital punishment was applied in the Republic of Korea was in December 1997. Since then, the country has imposed an unspoken moratorium on the death penalty, although it is still formally provided for by law. The international human rights organization Amnesty International has recognized South Korea as a country that has abolished the death penalty in practice.
The prosecutor's office also accuses the former head of state of trying to draw the country into a conflict with the DPRK. According to her, he ordered a drone strike on Pyongyang in October last year in order to provoke North Korea into military action and thereby create a pretext for the imposition of martial law. According to the prosecutor, investigators also confirmed his collusion with former Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun. Yun denies his guilt and claims that the imposition of martial law was within his authority, writes Reuters.
Yoon Seok-yeol is not the only South Korean president who has been caught up in a political scandal and ended up in prison. Over the past 60 years, a tragic fate has plagued a number of the country's leaders. For example, Lee Myung-bak was sentenced to 17 years for corruption and abuse of power after his presidency, and Noh Moo-hyun, according to police, committed suicide after being accused of bribery. The legendary promoter of the reforms that led the country to the "Korean economic miracle," Park Jong-hee, was killed.
Should we expect a new political crisis in South Korea
The sudden resonance in the case of the ex-president, with a possible outcome in the form of the death penalty, can be explained by an attempt by the current government to divert attention from the scandals associated with it. The current Democratic president, Lee Jae-myung, has a reputation as a very odious politician who, at the time of the start of the election campaign, was involved in several criminal cases, in particular for perjury, corruption and abuse of power.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung
Recently, the second person in the ruling Democratic Party, the head of its parliamentary faction, Kim Byong-ki, had to resign from his post. He was accused of corruption and using his status for personal gain. It also turned out that some high-ranking representatives of the democratic camp traded positions. In these circumstances, the party risks performing poorly in the local government elections, which will be held on June 3, 2026 and are traditionally considered as an interim vote of (non-)confidence in the government.
At the end of the year, Lee Jae-myung managed to provoke a scandal that could hit his political rating. In his speech, he mentioned a pseudoscientific nationalist text that significantly lengthens the proven history of the country and presents Koreans as a God-chosen people. After that, the president was attacked by a barrage of criticism from the opposition, who said that the current leader believes in unscientific fairy tales.
The death sentence of Yoon Seok-yeol may provoke serious discontent and protest from his radical supporters. Such a turn of events cannot be ruled out, although in the run-up to the elections, the Conservative party is trying not only to distance itself from the Una, but at least to identify itself as a normal democratic structure, says Konstantin Asmolov.
— We can expect the actions of some radical supporters, but the question is how massive and organized they will be. This will be a counteraction in response to the actions of the authorities," he believes.
Alexandra Zueva, an expert at the Center for Military-Economic Studies at the Institute of World Military Economics and Strategy at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, also believes that large-scale political crises should not be expected in the near future.
Therefore, foreign policy issues, including contacts with Russia, will not fade into the background. In December, Lee Jae-myung said he expects relations with Russia to improve. Nevertheless, so far the dialogue between Moscow and Seoul remains in limbo, the expert notes.
— As for the Russian Federation, South Korea is waiting for the results of further negotiations between Russia and the United States and the end of the special military operation. That is, until the United States gives the go-ahead and sanctions are at least partially lifted from us, any more serious steps towards us are unlikely to be taken," says Zueva.
At the moment, South Korea is interested in cooperation in one way or another and sees prospects, for example, in the Northern Sea Route. Another thing is that the dynamics of restoring lost connections still leaves much to be desired. Probably, everything can change the possible end of hostilities in Ukraine and the conclusion of peace.
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