Seoul: A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison for his failed bid to impose martial law in 2024, casting the attempt as an insurrection marked by the deployment of troops to the National Assembly, Yonhap News Agency reported.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Yoon of leading an insurrection through the martial law bid but handed down a sentence lighter than the death penalty recommended by special prosecutors. The ruling came 14 months after the former president made the surprise declaration of martial law on Dec 3, 2024, with the stated aim of eradicating anti-state forces, though the order was lifted six hours later following a vote by the National Assembly.
The court stated that while a declaration of martial law alone does not constitute an insurrection, Yoon's charge stood because he deployed troops to the National Assembly with the intent to paralyze the functions of a constitutional body. Yoon has already been sentenced to five years in prison in a separate trial on charges that include his alleged obstruction of investigators' attempt to detain him last year.