Reuters. A South Korean court ordered life in jail on Thursday (February 19) for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, after holding him guilty on charges of abuse of authority and masterminding an insurrection, stemming from his December 2024 attempt to impose martial law.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in the case, closely watched in a deeply divided country. It is the most consequential yet for the ousted leader, whose bid triggered a national political crisis and tested democratic resilience.
In January, prosecutors had said Yoon's "unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Election Commission ... actually destroying the liberal democratic constitutional order."
Masterminding an insurrection carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty or life imprisonment under South Korean law.
South Korea last handed down a death sentence in 2016, but has not executed anyone since 1997.
