In a significant ruling, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee Sang-min, a former Minister of the Interior and Safety under President Yoon Suk-yeol, to seven years in prison. This decision comes in the wake of Yoon's declaration of a state of emergency in December 2024, which the court deemed amounted to 'insurrection.' Lee was found guilty of directing the fire department to implement water cuts and power outages for media outlets that criticized the government, actions which the court highlighted as severely undermining core democratic values.

The court assessed that the state of emergency, orchestrated by Yoon, involved the mobilization of numerous military and police forces to occupy the National Assembly and suppress dissenting activities, constituting an act of insurrection. The judgment reflected the court's position that Lee knowingly participated in unconstitutional and illegal actions that facilitated these measures. Although Lee was also charged with abuse of power, he was acquitted of this charge due to insufficient evidence.

This verdict is part of a broader pattern of judicial actions concerning Yoon's emergency measures, following a similar ruling earlier against former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who received a 23-year sentence for similar charges. The ongoing legal developments indicate a critical examination of the Yoon administration's approach to governance and its implications for South Korea's democratic framework.