Seoul (South Korea), Feb. 19 (LaPresse) – Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of mobilizing military and police forces in an illegal attempt to take control of the National Assembly led by the liberals, arrest politicians, and establish unchecked power for a significant period. Yoon is likely to appeal the sentence. A special prosecutor had requested the death penalty, stating that Yoon deserved the harshest legal punishment for the threat his actions posed to the country’s democracy. Yoon, a staunch conservative, defended his December 3, 2024 martial law decree as a necessary act of governance against the liberals, whom he described as "anti-state" forces obstructing his agenda with their legislative majority. The decree remained in effect for approximately six hours before being revoked, after a quorum of parliamentarians broke through a blockade of hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and police officers and voted unanimously to annul the measure. The court also sentenced several former military and police officials involved in enforcing Yoon’s martial law decree, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who received a 30-year prison term for his central role in planning the measure and mobilizing the army.
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