Seoul, February 24 – Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appealed his life sentence on Tuesday, arguing that he was wrongly convicted of leading an insurrection as a result of his failed attempt to impose martial law.
The appeal was filed by his lawyers five days after a court sentenced Yoon to life in prison for leading an insurrection when he briefly imposed martial law on December 3, 2024.
"We believe we have a responsibility to clearly point out the problems with this decision, not only for court records, but for future historical records," the lawyers said in a statement to the press.
"We will not remain silent about the special counsel's overly aggressive indictment and the contradictory decision of the initial court based on it, as well as its political background," they added.
The Seoul Central District Court delivered the ruling last Thursday, stating that Yoon aimed to cripple the National Assembly by sending troops to the compound after declaring martial law, which meets the definition of an insurrection as stipulated in the Constitution.
It also said that the former president personally planned the crime, incurring a significant social cost, but failed to express any remorse, according to Yonhap news agency.
Seven other defendants also received their first verdicts alongside Yoon, including former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, and former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Kim Bong-sik.
The former defence minister was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while Cho was given 12 years and the former Seoul police chief 10 years for their roles in the martial law attempt.
Yoon was earlier sentenced to five years in prison in a separate trial on charges that include his alleged obstruction of investigators' attempts to detain him last year.
