A Seoul court sentences ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol to life for insurrection, ruling his 2024 martial law declaration aimed to paralyse parliament.

SEOUL: A South Korean court found former president Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of insurrection and sentenced him to life in prison.

Presiding judge Ji Gwi-yeon ruled that Yoon’s abrupt declaration of martial law in December 2024 was a plot to “paralyse” the National Assembly.

“The Court finds that the intention was to paralyse the assembly for a considerable period,” Ji told Seoul Central District Court.

Yoon had declared martial law in a televised address, stating drastic measures were needed to root out “anti-state forces”.

The judge stated that Yoon dispatched troops to the assembly building in an effort to silence his political opponents.

“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.

The court subsequently imposed a life sentence on the former leader.

 The Sun Malaysia