LAGOS FEBRUARY 19TH (NEWSRANGERS)-In December 2024, then-South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol made a botched attempt at imposing military rule to reassert his leadership.
That was overturned six hours later, after lawmakers defied armed police and military to gather inside parliament and vote down the decree.
Yoon was subsequently impeached by parliament, arrested and charged with multiple offences.
Thursday’s verdict – on the charge of leading an insurrection – was in relation to the most serious of those charges. He still faces further trials from aiding an enemy state to violating campaign law.
Other officials were also found guilty of offences; our earlier post has the full list, which includes his defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, as well as an ex-police chief.
Today’s sentencing is unlikely to mark the end of the saga; Yoon and his fellow convicted officials may appeal their sentences.
This verdict is also unlikely to end Yoon’s political life, our correspondent in Seoul says.
Despite being a deeply unpopular president, Yoon has reinvented himself as a populist right-wing figure after his removal.
Following the verdict, our reporters have been speaking to Yoon’s supporters outside court, where some were left tearful and others expressed hopes he would appeal.
An ex-general, though, tells the BBC that Yoon must take “responsibility for his misjudgement”.
We’re closing our live coverage there, but you can read more on Yoon Suk Yeol’s fall from grace in our news story.
BBC NEWS
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