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Yoon Suk Yeol

Yoon Suk Yeol

Former President of South Korea

Appears in 2 stories

Notable Quotes

"Anti-state" forces required extraordinary measures. — Yoon’s stated rationale, widely reported

"I will eradicate anti-state forces threatening the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea." — December 3, 2024, martial law address

Stories

South Korea fires its top cop for backing Yoon’s martial-law bid

Rule Changes

Removed from office (April 2025); facing insurrection-related prosecutions; verdict set for January 16, 2026

South Korea just made the quiet part of the 2024 martial-law crisis unmistakably loud: the country's top police officer is out for good. On December 18, 2025, the Constitutional Court removed National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, ruling he helped former President Yoon Suk Yeol's power grab by using police to block lawmakers from reaching the National Assembly floor.

Updated Yesterday

South Korea's former president faces death penalty for self-coup

Rule Changes

Sentenced to 5 years in prison (appealing), facing death penalty request in separate insurrection trial

South Korea has not executed anyone in 28 years. Yet on January 13, 2026, prosecutors asked a Seoul court to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to death. Three days later, a different court convicted him on obstruction of justice charges, handing down a five-year prison sentence—the first of eight criminal verdicts stemming from his six-hour martial law declaration on December 3, 2024. Yoon is the first South Korean president to face execution since military strongman Chun Doo-hwan in 1996, and the first to be criminally sentenced while the country's democratic institutions remain intact.

Updated Jan 20