(2nd LD) Ex-President Yoon sentenced to life imprisonment over martial law bid

▲ Former President Yoon Suk Yeol (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) ex-president-trial

(2nd LD) Ex-President Yoon sentenced to life imprisonment over martial law bid

(ATTN: UPDATES with sentencing; CHANGES headline)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- A court on Thursday sentenced former 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.

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.

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