S. Korea's ex-president Yoon convicted of ringleading insurrection

South Korea's former President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday on charges of insurrection.

The Seoul Central District Court delivered its ruling, which was broadcast live to the public, saying the crux of Yoon's martial law case was the fact that troops were deployed to the National Assembly.

The team of Cho Eun-suk, independent counsel in charge of Yoon's insurrection and other relevant crimes, requested the death sentence for Yoon on charges of orchestrating an insurrection by declaring an unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law despite the absence of war, incident or equivalent national emergencies.

The court explained that the martial law declaration constitutes insurrection if it infringes upon the authority of the National Assembly, noting that Yoon attempted to prevent the parliament from functioning properly for a significant period.

Yoon was also charged with mobilizing martial law troops and police to obstruct the National Assembly's resolution to lift the martial law and attempting to detain key political figures, such as the leaders of the main political parties and the parliamentary speaker.