President Yoon Suk Yeol

April 24, 2026 9:37 AM

South Korea prosecutors seek 30-year jail term for ex-President Yoon in drone case, Yonhap says

South Korean prosecutors sought a 30-year jail term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday, in a case alleging he ordered a drone operation over Pyongyang to help create a pretext for his December 2024 declaration of martial law, Yonhap news agency said. The Seoul Central District Court is expected to rule on the case at a later date. The trial is one of eight Yoon is currently involved in after he was ousted last year following his brief declaration of martial law, which sent shockwaves...

April 27, 2025 6:30 PM

South Korea martial law put Lee Jae-myung back on track for presidency

Lee Jae-myung, the liberal South Korean politician favoured to become the country's next leader, has overcome a knife attack, martial law, and criminal charges on his unexpected path back toward the presidency. Named the Democratic Party's candidate on Sunday, Lee leads potential conservative opponents by double digits in most polls ahead of the June 3 snap election called after Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over his brief attempt at martial law in December. Lee's unlikely journey from...

March 10, 2025 9:46 AM

South Korean police prepare for ‘worst-case scenarios’ ahead of Yoon impeachment ruling

Police will be out in force, and subway stations and at least one school will be closed over safety concerns when South Korea's Constitutional Court rules whether to oust or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon's political fate hangs in the balance after his short-lived martial law decree on December 3 led to his impeachment and separate criminal charges of insurrection. "We are setting up plans considering the worst-case scenarios," Lee Ho-young, Acting Commissioner General of th...

March 7, 2025 11:06 AM

South Korea court cancels President Yoon’s arrest warrant, Yonhap says

A South Korean court cancelled on Friday impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrest warrant, paving the way for his release from jail after he was arrested in mid-January on insurrection charges over his brief imposition of martial law, Yonhap News Agency reported. A Seoul Central District Court spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment. "South Korea's rule of law is still alive," Yoon's legal counsel said, according to broadcaster YTN. Yoon is expected to be released immediat...

February 20, 2025 12:06 PM

South Korea’s Yoon attends his first criminal trial hearing

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared at a Seoul court on Thursday for the first hearing of his criminal trial over insurrection charges, during which his lawyers demanded his release from jail. TV footage aired by local broadcasters showed justice ministry vehicles leaving the Seoul Detention Centre where Yoon is being held before arriving at the court where lines of police buses were parked outside to ensure security. The court heard a bid by Yoon's lawyers to cancel his d...

February 18, 2025 5:14 PM

South Korea’s parliament presses for Yoon’s removal as impeachment trial winds down

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol could try to impose martial law again or undermine constitutional institutions should he be reinstated, lawyers for parliament argued on Tuesday as his impeachment trial entered its final phase. After weeks of testimony by high-ranking current and former officials, including some facing criminal charges for their role in the brief imposition of martial law on December 3, lawyers for both sides summarised their arguments and evidence at the Constitutional Cou...

January 15, 2025 10:50 AM

What you need to know about the arrest of South Korea’s Yoon

South Korean investigators arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday for alleged insurrection over his bid to impose martial law, ending weeks of defiance and claims by Yoon and his lawyers that the arrest warrant was invalid. Yoon and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO), which is probing his short-lived martial law decree on Dec. 3, are at odds over whether the CIO has the authority to arrest and pursue criminal charges against a president. Autho...

Police officers stand guard as people gather near the presidential residence to show support for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol after the anti-corruption agency for high-ranking officials received a new court warrant to arrest Yoon, in Seoul, South Korea, January 8, 2025. Photo by Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images/Files

January 15, 2025 4:30 PM

South Korean investigators question arrested President Yoon in insurrection probe

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested and questioned by authorities on Wednesday in relation to a criminal insurrection investigation, saying he was only cooperating with what he called an illegal probe to avoid violence. His arrest, the first ever for an incumbent South Korean president, is the latest head-spinning development for one of Asia's most vibrant democracies even though the country has a history of prosecuting and imprisoning former leaders. Since lawmakers vo...

January 6, 2025 12:36 PM

Blinken expresses confidence in South Korea democratic process as Yoon faces arrest

South Korean investigators will seek an extension of a warrant to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, as visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed confidence in the key Asian ally's handling of the political turmoil. Investigators probing Yoon over his Dec. 3 martial law on Friday again failed to serve an arrest warrant, blocked by presidential security service guards who formed a human chain to prevent access to Yoon. The arrest warrant, the first for a sitting presid...

January 6, 2025 9:11 AM

South Korean police asked to execute arrest warrant for impeached president

South Korea's anti-corruption agency said on Monday that it had asked police to take over the execution of an arrest warrant for impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. The request comes after a failed attempt to execute an arrest warrant on Friday following a tense stand-off with presidential guards who formed a human chain to block access by the investigators. A joint team of investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and police are probing allega...