Appeals loom after former South Korean president's life sentence for insurrection


A man watches the live broadcast of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's sentencing at Seoul Station in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. - Photo: Yonhap

SEOUL: After the Seoul Central District Court on Thursday (Feb 19) sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection, Yoon’s lawyers made it clear that his skepticism over an appeal does not mean he will forgo the process.

"(Yoon) merely expressed his current thoughts and did not show an intention to decline an appeal,” his lawyers promptly told reporters. Appeals are widely expected from both Yoon and the special counsel, which had sought the death penalty for the former leader’s martial law decree in December 2024.

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