The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25 (presiding judge Jee Kui-youn) held the first-trial sentencing hearing at 3 p.m. on the 19th in the case charging former President Yoon Suk-yeol as the ringleader of insurrection.
The court found that "all of former President Yoon's actions—declaring the Dec. 3 martial law, blocking the National Assembly, and organizing arrest teams for politicians—constitute a riot."
For the crime of insurrection under the Criminal Act, a riot must be raised with the purpose of excluding state power from all or part of Korean territory or disrupting the constitutional order. The court's finding indicates that the former president's declaration of martial law and subsequent measures constitute the crime of insurrection.