From martial law to life sentence: Timeline of Yoon Suk Yeol’s downfall

People watch news coverage about the court’s first trial verdict for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is charged with leading an insurrection, at Seoul Station in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Thursday’s initial guilty verdict in the case against former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of leading an insurrection came 443 days after he declared martial law in December 2024, capping months of hearings that featured scores of witnesses and ending in a sentence of life in prison.

Since the first hearing in April last year, the court has convened 43 times and heard testimony from roughly 160 witnesses. The proceedings included evidence from related cases against senior military and police officials accused of playing central roles in the insurrection, which were consolidated with Yoon's case in December.

Here’s a timeline of the case, from Yoon’s martial law declaration to Thursday’s verdict.

Graphic by Cho Sang-won

December 2024: Martial law declaration

On Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon declared martial law, saying it was necessary to counter what he described as forces sympathetic to North Korea and hostile to the state. The order was rescinded about six hours later, in the early hours of the following morning, after the National Assembly voted 190 to 0 to demand its withdrawal.

Authorities and lawmakers moved swiftly. Three days later, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office established a special investigative headquarters to handle the case. On Dec. 14, the National Assembly approved a motion to impeach Yoon.

Later that month, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) sought an arrest warrant for Yoon from the Seoul Western District Court, which granted the request.

January-March 2025: 1st sitting president to be arrested

In January of 2025, the CIO failed in its first attempt to detain Yoon, which resulted in a standoff with the presidential security service. The second attempt — involving roughly 1,000 police officers — saw Yoon become the first sitting president in Korean history to be arrested, after which he was taken to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.

Later that month, prosecutors formally indicted Yoon while he was in detention on charges of leading an insurrection. In March, he was released after Judge Ji Gwi-yeon, who presided over the first trial, granted his request to cancel the detention order.

Moon Hyung-bae, acting chief of the Constitutional Court, reads a ruling upholding the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, April 4, 2025. Joint Press Corps

April-September 2025: Yoon impeached, insurrection trial begins

Last April, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld Yoon's removal from office, and the Seoul Central District Court opened his trial on charges of leading an insurrection.

Two months later, Korea held a snap election that elected Lee Jae Myung as president, and a special counsel team was launched to investigate the alleged insurrection.

The prosecution team sought a detention warrant for Yoon in July, and the court approved it, returning him to custody four months after his release. In the trial that followed, he missed 16 hearings, citing health concerns, and the proceedings continued in his absence for the next four months.

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a hearing on charges of leading an insurrection at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, Dec. 29, 2025. Yonhap

October-December 2025: Yoon clashes with witnesses in court

In October, Yoon appeared in court and directly confronted former Special Warfare Command Chief Kwak Jong-geun, who was testifying as a witness. Yoon denied having ordered troops to remove lawmakers by force, an account that Kwak challenged.

The following month, Hong Jang-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, testified again that Yoon had told him during the martial law episode to “round them all up,” referring to lawmakers. In December, the special counsel team concluded its 180-day investigation.

January-February 2026: Special counsel seeks death penalty, court hands down life sentence

Last month, the special counsel team sought the death penalty, citing the gravity of the alleged insurrection. It called the martial law declaration a “planned and organized crime” and said there were no mitigating factors.

On Thursday, the court sentenced Yoon to life in prison.

The court said the heart of the case lay in Yoon’s decision to send troops to the National Assembly to hinder and neutralize the legislature. At the same time, it cited mitigating circumstances, saying the scheme did not appear to have been carefully orchestrated and that there were signs that the use of force was limited.