Once South Korea’s top prosecutor and head of state, Yoon Suk-yeol now faces the courtroom reckoning of a lifetime, as successive rulings brand his failed attempt to impose martial law “unconstitutional and unlawful”, setting the stage for a verdict that could carry the death penalty.
In one of the most consequential legal findings since the country’s return to democracy in 1987, the 21st Criminal Court of Seoul Central District Court on Monday declared that the 2024 martial law decree orchestrated under Yoon’s command had violated both South Korea’s constitution and its criminal code.
The judgment, issued during the bribery trial of former army intelligence chief Noh Sang-won, marked the first time a criminal court had explicitly classified the declaration as illegal – a verdict that could now shape the outcome of Yoon’s own insurrection trial.
Advertisement
Noh, who was convicted of corruption, now faces a separate trial alongside the ex-president and former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, who prosecutors say joined in the plot to subvert the National Assembly and concentrate power in Yoon’s hands.
There would be enormous public backlash if Yoon were set free again
By declaring the martial law decree both unconstitutional and unlawful, the ruling had effectively paved the way for other courts, including the one handling Yoon’s case, “to follow suit”, said Lim Ji-bong, a law professor at Sogang University.
Advertisement