Yoon Suk Yeol handed life sentence for insurrection in South Korea: Here's what we know

The ousted South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been handed over a life imprisonment over his failed 2024 martial law bid.

Yoon Suk Yeol was found guilty of rebellion and abuse of authority following his failed attempts to impose martial law in the country.

Yoon’s sentence follows that of his former prime minister Han Duck Soo, who was sentenced to 23 years of imprisonment last month; the court ruled it as an “insurrection from the top.”

That sentence was eight years more than the 15 years prosecutors had asked for.

The court had found the former premier Han guilty of abetting Yoon’s martial law attempt and his failure to convene an official cabinet meeting to give a nod to the former president’s decree.

For context, Han was the first cabinet member under Yoon’s presidency to be convicted over the 2024 coup attempt, joining the former interior minister Lee Sang-min, who is serving a seven-year sentence behind bars.

Other officials were sentenced alongside Yoon, including his former intelligence commander and ex-police chief.

Yoon, and those convicted alongside him have the right to file appeals against the judgement within a period of one week.

The former South Korean president did not display any emotions as he appeared straight-faced upon receiving the sentence.

The judge in his verdict said Yoon had damaged South Korea’s democracy fundamentally and deserved a harsh punishment.

However, Yoon had earlier maintained that his martial law attempt was nothing more than an innocent gesture aimed at spotlighting the opposition party’s corruptions, but the judge didn’t buy it.