South Korea’s president is fighting to stay out of prison after martial law fiasco. Here’s what happens next | CNN


South Korea’s president is fighting to stay out of prison after martial law fiasco. Here’s what happens next | CNN

By Mike Valerio, Gawon Bae and Yoonjung Seo, CNN Updated 11:45 PM EST, Mon February 24, 2025 Seoul, South Korea CNN — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol faces a string of legal battles as the suspended leader fights to save his political career – and avoid prison – following his brief imposition of martial law last year. Yoon’s December 3 decree threw South Korea into turmoil when he banned political activity and sent troops to the heart of the nation’s democracy – only to reverse the move within six hours after lawmakers forced their way into parliament and voted unanimously to block it. The decree was swiftly met by widespread public anger, reviving painful memories of strongmen leaders who curtailed rights and freedoms in the country after the Korean War until its transition to democracy in the late 1980s. Even several members of Yoon’s own conservative ruling party turned on him. On December 14, parliament voted to impeach him, suspending his presidential powers. But a defiant Yoon has vowed to “fight to the end,” as the country’s top court reviews his impeachment and as he also appears in a separate criminal trial for insurrection. Here’s what we know.