Yoon Suk Yeol

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South Korea Jails Its Ex-President for Life

Court cites insurrection, rejects death penalty sought by prosecutors for Yoon Suk Yeol

(Newser) - South Korea has put a former president behind bars for life, with hard labor, over what a court has labeled an attempted "self-coup." A Seoul court on Thursday found Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of leading an insurrection tied to his Dec. 3, 2024, declaration of martial law, ruling...

Diamond Necklace Lands Ex-First Lady in Prison

South Korea's Kim Keon Hee convicted of accepted church bribes

(Newser) - South Korea has just checked off a political first: a former president and first lady convicted at the same time. Ousted ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced earlier this month to five years in prison over an attempted martial law plan in 2024. On Wednesday, a Seoul court sentenced his...

South Korea's Ex-PM Sentenced in Martial Law Case

Han Duck-soo gets 23 years in prison for his role in then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law decree

(Newser) - South Korea just handed down a tough political ruling, and it landed on a former prime minister. The Guardian reports that Han Duck-soo was sentenced on Wednesday to 23 years behind bars for helping then-President Yoon Suk Yeol push through an unconstitutional martial law decree in December 2024—an attempt...

Yoon Gets 5 Years in First Verdict From 8 Trials

Death penalty has been requested in another case

(Newser) - A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations. Yoon was impeached, arrested, and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition...

Prosecutors Want Death for South Korea's Ousted Leader

Yoon Suk Yeol, accused of attempted insurrection, awaits judge's verdict

(Newser) - South Korea's most dramatic political trial in decades is now in a judge's hands—and prosecutors want the ultimate punishment. They've requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, arguing he led an attempted insurrection when he briefly declared martial law in December 2024, per...

South Korea Has New Charges for Ousted Leader

Yoon Suk Yeol allegedly sent drones over North in a deliberate attempt to provoke them

(Newser) - South Korea's ousted conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol faces more criminal charges as prosecutors alleged Monday that he ordered drone flights over North Korea in a deliberate bid to stoke tensions and justify his plans to declare martial law. Yoon set off the most serious political crisis in South...

Wife of South Korea's Jailed Ex-President Arrested
Wife of South Korea's
Jailed Former Prez Indicted
UPDATED
Aug 29, 2025 12:30 AM CDT

Wife of South Korea's Jailed Former Prez Indicted

Some speculate Yoon's actions were motivated by allegations against his wife

(Newser) - South Korea's former first lady Kim Keon Hee and former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo were indicted Friday as part of investigations into the administration of ousted President Yoon Suk-Yeol and his attempt to overcome opposition by declaring martial law, the AP reports. A team led by Special Prosecutor Min...

One Week Into Campaign, Party Votes on Replacing Nominee

People Power Party members reject attempt in phone survey

(Newser) - South Korea's embattled conservative party canceled then reinstated the presidential candidacy of Kim Moon Soo within hours on Saturday as internal turmoil escalated ahead of the June 3 election. The chaotic U-turn, after a failed attempt to replace Kim with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, underscored the People Power...

South Korean President Yoon Removed From Office

Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached in December over martial law declaration

(Newser) - South Korea's Constitutional Court removed impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol from office on Friday, four months after he threw South Korean politics into turmoil by declaring martial law and sending troops to parliament in an ill-fated effort to break through legislative gridlock. The unanimous verdict comes more than three...

14K Cops Will Descend on Seoul on Friday
14K Cops Will Descend
on Seoul on Friday
THE RUNDOWN
Apr 3, 2025 12:22 PM CDT

14K Cops Will Descend on Seoul on Friday

South Korea is tense ahead of ruling on Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment

(Newser) - More than a tenth of South Korea's entire police force will be mobilized in Seoul on Friday morning as the country's Constitutional Court prepares to decide Yoon Suk Yeol's fate. The court says it will rule on the validity of Yoon's impeachment at 11am local time,...

S. Korea's Acting President Reinstated by High Court

Constitutional Court overturns impeachment of Han Duck-soo

(Newser) - South Korea's Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating the nation's No. 2 official as acting leader Monday while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his shocking imposition of martial law late last year. Many observers said...

South Korea Releases Impeached President

Court allows Yoon Suk Yeol to be free during rebellion trial

(Newser) - South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was released from prison on Saturday, a day after a Seoul court canceled his arrest to allow him to stand trial for rebellion without being detained. After walking out of a detention center near Seoul, Yoon waved, clenched his fists, and bowed...

Prosecutors Indict South Korea's President
South Korea Indicts President
Jan 26, 2025 11:30 AM CST

South Korea Indicts President

A trial over martial law declaration is next for Yoon Suk Yeol

(Newser) - South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on rebellion in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law, a criminal charge that could incur the death penalty or life imprisonment if he's convicted. Yoon was impeached and arrested over his Dec. 3 martial law decree...

Thousands Rally at Court for President's Release
South Korea Arrests
Impeached President
updated
Jan 18, 2025 1:50 PM CST

South Korea Arrests Impeached President

Thousands rallied outside Seoul court for release of Yoon Suk Yeol

(Newser) - South Korea's impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was formally arrested early Sunday after a court found he was a threat to destroy evidence. The Seoul Western District Court deliberated for hours before granting law enforcement's request for an arrest warrant, the AP reports. Yoon, who appeared before the...

They Cut Barbed Wire, Scaled Walls to Arrest a President

President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence has been called a 'fortress' by some

(Newser) - An effort to arrest South Korea's president on Jan. 3 failed . A second attempt on Wednesday succeeded —with the help of what the BBC reports was a 1,000-person-strong arrest team. Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol is under criminal investigation for insurrection after declaring martial law on Dec....

South Korea's Impeached President Is Detained

Second attempt to take Yoon Suk Yeol into custody is successful

(Newser) - South Korean law enforcement officials on Wednesday detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief imposition of martial law last month, the AP reports. In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of an anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented that the "rule of law has...

'Human Wall' Blocks Arrest of South Korea's President

Corruption Investigation Office suspends efforts to arrest Yoon Suk Yeol over safety concerns

(Newser) - South Korean investigators suspended efforts to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday after an hours-long standoff that saw 200 soldiers and members of the Presidential Security Service form a "human wall" to protect Yoon, per CNN . Some 80 police officers and investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office...

Supporters Try to Keep Officers From Impeached President

South Korea's anti-corruption agency sends investigators to Yoon Suk Yeol's residence

(Newser) - South Korean investigators on Friday were attempting to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree last month, as hundreds of his supporters gathered at his residence in Seoul, vowing to block their approach. About 20 investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and...

Arrest Warrant Issued for South Korean President

Though experts say it's unlikely he will actually be detained

(Newser) - A South Korean court issued warrants Tuesday to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and search his office and residence over his short-lived declaration of martial law, the AP reports. The country's anti-corruption agency said it is investigating whether his declaration amounted to rebellion. But experts still say there...

After 'Shocking Stunt,' an Impeachment Vote in S. Korea

Nation's parliament votes to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after short-lived martial law decree

(Newser) - South Korea's parliament on Saturday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his stunning and short-lived martial law decree, a move that ended days of political paralysis but set up an intense debate over Yoon's fate, as jubilant crowds roared to celebrate another defiant moment in the country's...

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