Jun Sok-jol guilty of declaring martial law, court rules

On Thursday, a South Korean court sentenced former President Jun Sok-jol to life imprisonment for leading a rebellion during his unsuccessful attempt to impose martial law in the country in December 2024.

In January, prosecutors sought the maximum possible sentence for the former president for organizing the rebellion—the death penalty or life imprisonment. According to them, his declaration of a state of emergency was unconstitutional and undermined the functioning of the National Assembly and the Election Commission, thereby disrupting the country's liberal democratic constitutional order.

South Korea last imposed the death penalty in 2016, but has not executed anyone since 1997.

Sok-jol ordered soldiers to storm the parliament and block access to buildings, including the opposition headquarters. He regularly rejects the charges and claims that as president he had the right to declare martial law to draw attention to the opposition's actions.

The former president had previously been sentenced to five years in prison for obstruction of justice, falsification of official documents, and failure to comply with the legal procedures required for the imposition of martial law. The charges relate to events in January 2025, when, after being dismissed from office by parliament, he barricaded himself in the presidential complex and prevented investigators from arresting him.

(reuters, max)