Seoul/IBNS, Feb. 19 -- Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his brief but dramatic imposition of martial law in December 2024, a move the court ruled amounted to rebellion against the state.

Delivering the verdict, Judge Jee Kui-youn said Yoon unlawfully mobilised military and police forces in an attempt to seize control of the liberal-led National Assembly, detain political opponents and establish unchecked authority for a "considerable" period.

The court found that Yoon's actions had no constitutional basis and directly undermined democratic governance in South Korea.

Prosecutors argued that the former president's use of armed forces to block lawmakers constituted a direct assault on...