South Korea's top court has upheld a seven-year prison sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law declaration in December 2024. The Supreme Court rejected all appeals in its final ruling on Thursday, finding no errors in the lower court's judgment.
Yoon faced multiple charges stemming from his botched attempt to suspend civilian rule. He allegedly obstructed cabinet discussions by meeting only with select ministers before declaring martial law, and prosecutors said he created and destroyed a false decree bearing forged signatures from the prime minister.
The ex-president also stood accused of ordering officials to distribute misleading statements to foreign media outlets. He directed an army commander to delete records from secure military phones, prosecutors claimed.
A lower court sentenced Yoon to five years in January after convicting him on most charges. An appeals court then added a guilty verdict for the misleading press release and raised the sentence to seven years in April.
Both the prosecution and Yoon's defence team had appealed to the Supreme Court.
"All appeals are dismissed," a Supreme Court judge announced during the televised ruling. The judge confirmed that the lower court's judgment "contained no errors."
Yoon, who is currently detained, did not attend Thursday's hearing. His legal team expressed "deep regret" over the decision, accusing the Supreme Court of concluding the case "without sufficient deliberation."
Yoon's lawyers plan to file a constitutional challenge to the ruling. The defence team said they would lodge a formal complaint over the outcome.
Prosecutors said they respected the top court's decision and pledged to pursue remaining cases tied to Yoon's insurrection attempt. "We will do our utmost to successfully prosecute the remaining cases related to insurrection," they said.
Yoon's late-night address in December 2024 announcing martial law plunged South Korea into unprecedented turmoil. The suspension of civilian rule lasted only about six hours as lawmakers voted to block it in an emergency session.
The martial law declaration triggered mass protests and sent the stock market tumbling. The move also caught key allies like the United States by surprise.
In a separate case, a court handed Yoon a 30-year sentence for sending drones into North Korean territory to "manufacture" a crisis ahead of his martial law bid. In January, another court ruled that Yoon abused his power by turning members of the Presidential Security Service against the state to prevent his arrest.
The Supreme Court said Thursday that measures taken by Yoon's security team—including human-chain formations and barbed wire barriers—to obstruct a court warrant could not qualify as legitimate security activities.
Yoon has consistently maintained his martial law declaration was "solely for the sake of the nation." He is also fighting a life sentence handed down in a separate insurrection case related to the same martial law order.
