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.

Dec. 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 The order was rescinded about six hours later, in the early hours of the following morning, after the National Assembly voted 190 to 0 to demand its withdrawal.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 detained

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.

Source: Korea Times News