Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol appeals life sentence in martial law case
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at a hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court, Dec. 29. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday appealed his life sentence for leading an insurrection linked to his 2024 declaration of martial law.
The filing came five days after the Seoul Central District Court convicted the former leader of leading an insurrection in connection with his brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.
"We believe we bear a responsibility to clearly place on record the flaws in this judgment, not only before the court but also before history," Yoon's legal team said in a statement. "Under that responsibility, we will set out the errors in fact-finding and misapplications of laws in the first-instance ruling."
"We will not remain silent regarding the special counsel's excessive indictment, the contradictory reasoning of the first trial conducted under those circumstances and its political implications," the statement added.
In its ruling issued last Thursday, the court concluded that Yoon's actions met the legal definition of insurrection and that the martial law declaration caused serious damage to government institutions and the National Assembly.
Two days after the verdict, Yoon, in a statement issued by his legal team, said it was "difficult to accept the logic that troops going to the National Assembly amounted to insurrection."
Yoon also said his decision to declare martial law was "solely for the country and the people."
"While it was a decision to save the nation, I deeply apologize to the people for making you experience much despair and suffering due to my shortcomings," he said in a statement.