People in the Republic of Korea (ROK) are sharply divided over the life sentence for former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of insurrection stemming from his declaration of emergency martial law in 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court delivered its ruling on Thursday, which was broadcast live nationwide.
The court recognized that the impeached leader committed insurrectionary acts with the intent to subvert the constitutional order, finding him guilty of ringleading the insurrection.
By law, the insurrection ringleader can only be sentenced to capital punishment or life imprisonment if found guilty.
Outside the courthouse, reactions were immediate and sharply polarized.
"The Republic of Korea's judiciary has delivered an outrageous verdict in what is clearly a political trial. During the proceedings, there were countless illegalities, and the testimony was fabricated. To hand down a life sentence based on this, I believe, is an act that betrays the people," said Heo Ji-won, a pro-Yoon protestor.
The Seoul court merged three trials in December last year for eight suspects, including Yoon and seven other senior military and police officials, charged with performing critical duties in the insurrection.
The court handed former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun a 30-year prison sentence, convicting him of performing a significant role in the insurrection.
Former Defense Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won and former National Police Agency Commissioner Cho Ji-ho received prison terms of 18 and 12 years, respectively, for their key roles in the insurrection.
"The accomplices have all been found guilty of insurrection, and the ringleader has received a life sentence. So, there's really nothing more to ask for. I'm satisfied with the outcome," said Ku Tae-gyun, an anti-Yoon protestor.
Yoon became the country's third former president to stand trial on insurrection charges, following former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were convicted for military coup and brutal crackdown under martial law.
Yoon declared a state of emergency on the night of Dec 3, 2024, but the National Assembly revoked it hours later.
The Constitutional Court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon in April 2025, officially removing him from office.
Yoon was indicted and detained in January of 2025 as a suspected ringleader of an insurrection.
ROK people divided over ex-president Yoon's life sentence on insurrection
Sanhe Ancient Town in Hefei City of east China's Anhui Province has launched a series of Spring Festival celebrations featuring traditional fish-shaped lantern garden parties and night tours, offering visitors an immersive cultural tourism experience.
The ancient town served as a key filming location for the Hefei sub-venue of China Media Group (CMG)'s 2026 Spring Festival Gala, which kicked off at the prime viewing time of 20:00 on Monday night, the eve of the Chinese New Year.
Every evening from 18:00 to 21:00 during the Spring Festival holiday, a procession of hundreds of people parades through the town's streets, waving handcrafted traditional fish-shaped lanterns, a provincial intangible cultural heritage.
In the traditional fish-shaped lantern parade known as "Thousand Fish Leaping in Sanhe," the largest lantern measures eight meters long and requires six people to carry simultaneously, while the smallest is only about 10 centimeters, with visitors allowed to join the procession.
After the filming, the exquisite stage settings for this year's gala have been fully preserved by local authorities.
The ancient town has also repurposed the fish-shaped lanterns of various sizes that appeared in the gala and carried out comprehensive lighting upgrades and nighttime scene renovations in the core scenic area, in efforts to boost tourism in the wake of the gala filming.
At night during the holiday season, nearly 3,000 traditional fish-shaped lanterns and various colorful lights illuminate the entire ancient town in a dazzling display.
Visitors can also choose to explore the town by boat, taking a nighttime cruise along the waterways.
At the six filming locations in Sanhe used for the Gala, the town has scheduled diverse cultural tourism activities, with multiple traditional Chinese-style street performances throughout the day, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the holiday experience.
During the first two days of the holiday, over 100,000 visits were recorded as people flocked to the ancient town, with a particularly strong draw for young visitors.
According to local tourism authorities, the proportion of young tourists is expected to increase by over 80 percent throughout the entire official Spring Festival holiday season from February 15 to 23.
The garden party program runs from February 17 to 23, lasting seven days, according to organizers.
Besides Hefei, the other three sub-venues for the gala are Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in northeast China known as the "ice city," Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang, which has been dubbed "the world's supermarket," and Yibin in southwest China's Sichuan Province, a city renowned for its bamboo sea and liquor culture.
Commonly known as "Chunwan" in Chinese, the Gala has aired live every Chinese New Year's Eve since 1983, and is widely seen as a major cultural symbol of the festival.
East China's ancient town launches fish-shaped lantern celebrations for Spring Festival
