A South Korean court ordered life in jail on Thursday for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, after holding him guilty on charges of abuse of authority and masterminding an insurrection, stemming from his December 2024 attempt to impose martial law, Reuters reported. 

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in the case, closely watched in a deeply divided country. It is the most consequential yet for the ousted leader, whose bid triggered a national political crisis and tested democratic resilience.

In January, prosecutors had said Yoon’s “unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Election Commission ... actually destroying the liberal democratic constitutional order.”