SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

The verdict is the first against former President Yoon Suk Yeol in the eight criminal trials over the decree he issued in late 2024 and other allegations.

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol could face the death penalty after prosecutors requested the punishment in his criminal case on Tuesday. Yoon is facing insurrection charges after he briefly declared martial law in South Korea just over a year ago.

On December 3, 2024, then-President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in the name of protecting the country from unspecified anti-state and pro-North Korea forces. According to South Korea’s Constitution, the president can declare martial law under ...

Impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said the country was facing a national crisis and repeatedly defended his martial law decree in his final hearing statement of his impeachment trial. Mr Yoon gave a 67-minute statement at the Constitutional ...

SEOUL -- Thousands of South Koreans rallied outside the National Assembly on Wednesday, marking one year since former President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law -- a short-lived, failed attempt that citizens and parliament quickly overturned. The ...

FILE - South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 11, 2025 ...

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol began preparations for his short-lived imposition of martial law in or before October 2023, more than a year before the December 2024 declaration, a special counsel team concluded Monday. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team ...