Belgium has a new prime minister, one who long tried to gut the nation and seek regional autonomy

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium has a new prime minister whose political purpose was long to break up the nation, gut the state structures and give ever more autonomy to his northern Flanders at the cost of everyone else.

Bart De Wever took the oath early Monday, looking straight at King Philippe, the latest monarch of a royal house he so long had little but disdain for because it symbolized the old concept of Belgian unity.

“I swear allegiance to the king,” he said.

It was another indication how times change, and bold demands for Flemish independence have made room for the hope of gradual change and finding a renewed balance between Dutch-speaking Flanders, with 6.7 million people, francophone Wallonia, with 3.7 million, and multilingual Brussels, with 1.2 million.

The prime minister and leading ministers took the oath in Dutch and French while several others on the 15-member team from both sides of the linguistic divide stuck to their own language during a short ceremony at the Royal Palace.

“You can ... not take part in a government and wait until the system can be taken as a whole. I never believed in that,” he told De Standaard newspaper. “The other option is to take part when you can, and obtain things for your community, and that is what we did."

“When you don't take part, you are certainly left emptyhanded,” he added.

Language issues are woven throughout the past century, as the French-dominated nation gradually made way for a balanced political scene while Wallonia's industrial prowess waned and Flanders' economic power rose.

De Wever of the Flemish nationalist N-VA party succeeds Alexander De Croo, who has remained in office as a caretaker since the June elections last year. De Wever will join his fellow European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels later Monday.

“We will have a government that will clean up the budget, implement a fair social policy, reward work, implement the strictest migration policy ever, abolish the nuclear phase-out, and invest in safety,” N-VA said in a statement.

One issue immediately stood out — gender balance. When De Croo had achieved quasi parity between men and women on his team, De Wever only has three women on his team of 15, and none among the four vice premiers. He has said he regrets it, but never made it a key point in the coalition talks.

De Wever brought an eclectic mix of five parties together to break a 7-month deadlock in coalition talks. The Flemish nationalist was only given a shot at successfully brokering a coalition because the PS socialists, De Wever's political nemesis, lost their generations-long grip on Wallonia. It allowed him to get a deal with a free-market MR party.

In Flanders, the Vooruit socialist party will have to make sure the cornerstones of Belgium's welfare society survive. The government program is set to cut social benefits in an attempt to tackle the nation’s debt-burdened budget. Overall, the nation has debt totaling just over 100% of GDP, putting it among the worst in the 27-nation EU.

With Vooruit on board, the francophone MR liberals, the centrist CD&V and Engages and the N-VA complete the coalition, controlling 81 of 150 seats in the House for a comfortable majority.

The length of coalition talks highlighted however how difficult it was to bridge fundamental gaps between the different parties.

Belgium's new Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden, rear, walks down the steps to join a group photo after a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, left, raises his hand to take an oath during a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, pose with ministers for a group photo after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, center front, stands with other mininster prior to a group photo after a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center, shakes hands with Belgium's new Interior Minister Bernard Quintin during a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, pose with ministers after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Government ministers stand in a line prior to a swearing in ceremony for the new Belgian government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, walk with ministers after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, left, walks with Belgium's King Philippe, center, during a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

New Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, left, raises his hand to take an oath during a swearing in ceremony for the new government in front of Belgium's King Philippe at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Belgium's King Philippe, center front, and new Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, front center left, pose with ministers after a swearing in ceremony for the new government at the Royal Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison Friday in the first verdict from eight criminal trials over the martial law debacle that forced him out of office and other allegations.

Yoon was impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024 triggered huge public protests calling for his ouster.

The most significant criminal charge against him alleges that his martial law enforcement amounted to a rebellion, and the independent counsel has requested the death sentence in the case that is to be decided in a ruling next month.

Yoon has maintained he didn’t intend to place the country under military rule for an extended period, saying his decree was only meant to inform the people about the danger of the liberal-controlled parliament obstructing his agenda. But investigators have viewed Yoon’s decree as an attempt to bolster and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.

In Friday’s case, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon for defying attempts to detain him, fabricating the martial law proclamation, and sidestepping a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting and thus depriving some Cabinet members who were not convened of their due rights to deliberate on his decree.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said in the televised ruling that imposing “a grave punishment” was necessary because Yoon hasn’t shown remorse and has only repeated “hard-to-comprehend excuses.” The judge also restoring legal systems damaged by Yoon’s action was necessary.

Yoon’s defense team said they will appeal the ruling, which they believe was “politicized” and reflected “the unliberal arguments by the independent counsel.” Yoon’s defense team argued the ruling “oversimplified the boundary between the exercise of the president’s constitutional powers and criminal liability.”

Prison sentences in the multiple, smaller trials Yoon faces would matter if he is spared the death penalty or life imprisonment at the rebellion trial.

Park SungBae, a lawyer who specializes in criminal law, said there is little chance the court would decide Yoon should face the death penalty in the rebellion case. He said the court will likely issue a life sentence or a sentence of 30 years or more in prison.

South Korea has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions since 1997 and courts rarely hand down death sentences. Park said the court would take into account that Yoon’s decree didn’t cause casualties and didn’t last long, although Yoon hasn’t shown genuine remorse for his action.

South Korea has a history of pardoning former presidents who were jailed over diverse crimes in the name of promoting national unity. Those pardoned include strongman Chun Doo-hwan, who received the death penalty at a district court over his 1979 coup, the bloody 1980 crackdowns of pro-democracy protests that killed about 200 people, and other crimes.

Some observers say Yoon will likely retain a defiant attitude in the ongoing trials to maintain his support base in the belief that he cannot avoid a lengthy sentence but could be pardoned in the future.

On the night of Dec. 3, 2024, Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised speech, saying he would eliminate “anti-state forces” and protect “the constitutional democratic order.” Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but many apparently didn’t aggressively cordon off the area, allowing enough lawmakers to get into an assembly hall to vote down Yoon’s decree.

No major violence occurred, but Yoon's stunt caused the biggest political crisis in South Korea and rattled its diplomacy and financial markets. For many, his decree, the first of its kind in more than four decades in South Korea, brought back harrowing memories of past dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s, when military-backed leaders used martial law and emergency measures to deploy soldiers and tanks on the streets to suppress demonstrations.

After Yoon's ouster, his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung became president via a snap election last June. After taking office, Lee appointed three independent counsels to look into allegations involving Yoon, his wife and associates.

Yoon's other trials deal with charges like ordering drone flights over North Korea to deliberately inflame animosities to look for a pretext to declare martial law. Other charges accuse Yoon of manipulating the investigation into a marine’s drowning in 2023 and receiving free opinion surveys from an election broker in return for a political favor.

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shouts slogans outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A picture of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is placed on a board as supporters gather outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)