A South Korean court on Thursday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life in prison, ruling that his December 2024 martial law declaration was a plot to “paralyse” the National Assembly.
Yoon had abruptly announced the measure, claiming it was needed to root out “anti-state forces.”
Presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon said Yoon “dispatched troops to the assembly building in an effort to silence his political opponents” and added, “The Court finds that the intention was to paralyse the assembly for a considerable period.”
“The declaration of martial law resulted in enormous social costs, and it is difficult to find any indication that the defendant has expressed remorse for that,” the judge said.