Former South Korean president handed life sentence after declaring martial law in 2024

A South Korean court has sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison after he imposed martial law in the country in 2024.

Yoon was found guilty of abuse of authority and masterminding an insurrection, stemming from his martial law bid in December 2024, in a case that meant he also faced the death penalty.

Yoon, a staunch conservative, had defended his decree as necessary to stop liberals, whom he described as "anti-state" forces, from obstructing his agenda with their legislative majority.

The emergency rule triggered a national political crisis.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty in January, saying "his unconstitutional and ‌illegal emergency martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Election Commission... actually destroying the liberal democratic constitutional order."

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