Former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced to 5 years in prison by the Seoul Central District Court on Friday over charges tied to his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024. [1]
The court issued its first ruling on charges stemming from the crisis, which led to Yoon’s impeachment and removal from office. [1]
Yoon was convicted on charges including obstruction of investigators’ attempt to detain him last year, infringement of ministers’ constitutional right to deliberate on the martial law order, aggravated obstruction of the execution of a lawful warrant, and fabrication and destruction of official documents. [1]
The judge said Yoon was guilty of all charges except those related to the rights of two of the nine Cabinet members and the order to distribute false press statements. Judge Baek Dae-hyun said, "He effectively privatized the armed forces through public servants of the Presidential Security Service who are loyal to the Republic of Korea, for his personal safety and interests." [1]
The 5-year sentence was half of the 10 years sought last month by special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team. [1]
A live TV broadcast of the trials of the former president was shown at Seoul Station in Seoul on 2026-01-16. [1]
