Ex-South Korean President Yoon sentenced to life imprisonment 'Martial Law Bid'

A court on Thursday sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison for his failed bid to impose martial law in 2024.

In the first ruling on the case, 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, Yonhap News Agency



reported.

The court made clear the martial law order amounted to an insurrection as the former president sought to cripple the National Assembly by sending troops to the parliamentary compound. 

It stressed multiple times that at the core of the case was Yoon’s deployment of troops to the National Assembly. The hearing was attended by the jailed former president and broadcast live on national television.