South Korea's top court upholds seven-year prison term for ex-president Yoon in martial law case

Final ruling at the Supreme Court

On Thursday, South Korea's Supreme Court upheld the seven-year prison term against former president Yoon Suk Yeol, making the sentence final. "All appeals are dismissed," a judge said during a televised broadcast, adding the lower court's decision "contained no errors." Yoon, who remains in detention, did not attend the ruling. His legal team expressed "deep regret," saying the justices had moved too quickly without sufficient review. The ruling aligns with the Constitutional Court's April 2025 decision that removed Yoon from office, finding his martial law decree lacked a legal basis.

All appeals are dismissed.

The December 2024 martial law crisis

The charges stem from Yoon's December 3, 2024 martial law declaration, which lasted just hours before the National Assembly voted to repeal it. Lawmakers had to break through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers and police to reach the chamber. The court found that Yoon had excluded cabinet members from a meeting to deliberate before the announcement, falsified the official proclamation to conceal procedural lapses, and later ordered presidential security forces to block his arrest. Testimony from then prime minister Han Duck-soo and others indicated that Yoon unilaterally informed cabinet members of his decision rather than seeking their input. The Seoul High Court had also noted that Yoon violated the rights of nine other cabinet members by failing to invite them or notifying them too late.

A multi-stage legal battle

Yoon was initially handed a five-year sentence by a trial court in January 2026. That sentence was raised to seven years by the Seoul High Court in April, and Thursday's Supreme Court ruling now closes that case. The charges included obstruction of justice for resisting investigators' attempts to detain him, violation of cabinet members' rights, and falsification of official documents. In parallel, Yoon faces other convictions: a life sentence for leading an insurrection, handed down in February, and a 30-year term imposed in June for ordering drone flights over North Korea that prosecutors said were intended to create a pretext for martial law. Both verdicts remain under appeal.

Political fallout and elections

The short-lived martial law order triggered a deep political crisis, paralysing diplomacy and shaking financial markets. The Constitutional Court removed Yoon from office in April 2025, finding the declaration lacked a legal basis. The turmoil subsided only after liberal rival Lee Jae Myung won a snap presidential election in June 2025 and took power.