The former leader of South Korea has been sentenced to five years in prison for crimes related to marriage law
Listen to this article
Average 3 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison on charges including obstructing authorities’ efforts to arrest him following his failure to impose martial law in December 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of conspiring with the presidential security service to prevent authorities from issuing an arrest warrant that had been formally issued by the court to investigate him over his declaration of martial law.
On television, he was also found guilty of falsifying official documents and failing to comply with the legal process required by martial law.
The verdict is the first related to the criminal charges Yoon faces in connection with his botched declaration of martial law.
“The defendant abused his enormous power as president to prevent the issuance of warrants for the use of officers of the Security Service, which legally retained private officers … loyal to the Republic of Korea for his own protection and benefit,” the lead judge on the three-judge panel said.
Speaking outside court immediately after the verdict, one of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoo Jung-hwa, said the former president would appeal the decision. “We express our regret that this decision was taken in a political manner,” he said.
He could face the death penalty in a separate trial for plotting a rebellion by declaring martial law without reason.
Yoon said that it was in his power as president to declare martial law and that this action was intended to signal the obstruction of the government by opposition groups.
Yoon, who also pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday, could have faced up to 10 years in prison on tampering charges related to when he barricaded himself in his apartment in January last year and ordered security forces to block investigators.
He was arrested and charged
He was eventually arrested in a second attempt involving more than 3,000 police officers. Yoon’s arrest was the first for a sitting president of South Korea.
Parliament, joined by other members of Yoon’s party, voted within hours to overturn his surprise declaration of martial law and later impeached him, suspending his power.
He was removed from office in April last year by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that he had breached the duties of his office.
Although Yoon’s call for martial law lasted only six hours, it sent shockwaves through South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a key US security ally and long considered one of the world’s strongest democracies.
