SEOUL - Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol apologized to the public on Friday for his shortcomings following a lower court's decision to sentence him to life in prison for insurrection charges stemming from his martial law declaration.

Yoon said in a statement that he deeply apologized to the public for the frustrations and hardships caused by his own shortcomings, although his decision to declare the emergency martial law was solely for the nation and the people.

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He stressed that his desperate decision to save the nation was slandered as an insurrection, noting that the court's ruling was unacceptable as it convicted him of insurrection because of the military entering the National Assembly building.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Thursday that the crux of Yoon's martial law case was the fact that troops were deployed to the National Assembly, saying the impeached leader attempted to prevent the parliament from functioning properly for a significant period.

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The emergency martial law was declared by Yoon on the night of Dec 3, 2024, but it was revoked hours later by the National Assembly.

The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April of 2025, officially removing him from office.

Yoon was indicted under detention in January of 2025 as a suspected ringleader of insurrection, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested and indicted.