Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has appealed a life sentence handed down in his trial on charges of leading an insurrection.

His lawyers said on Tuesday they had appealed the verdict to clearly document flaws in the lower court’s judgment, both in legal records and in the judgment of history.

The lawyers said they would not remain silent about the special counsel's overreaching indictment, the lower court's contradictory ruling and its political backdrop.

Last Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that deploying troops to the National Assembly with the intent to obstruct its functions constituted an act of insurrection aimed at undermining the constitutional order.

It dismissed Yoon’s claim that the martial law declaration on December 3, 2024, was meant to overcome a national crisis and to protect democracy, calling it a confusion of motive and purpose.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty, but the court imposed life in prison, citing mitigating factors including the lack of detailed planning and Yoon’s clean record.