Former South Korean President Yoon Sentenced to Five Years Over Martial Law

A three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court sentenced impeached and ousted former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison on Friday, finding him guilty of fabricating an official document to justify his short-lived imposition of martial law and of illegally using his bodyguards to prevent his arrest on insurrection charges.

The judges convicted Mr. Yoon of obstructing justice after he ordered presidential security agents to block law enforcement officials from serving a court warrant, and of abusing his power for failing to invite some cabinet members to a Dec. 3, 2024, meeting to review his martial law plan.

Presiding judge Baek Dae-hyun said, "He turned his Presidential Security Service, trained to be loyal to the country, into a de facto private army for his personal safety and interests." The court also found he fabricated a document to make it appear cabinet members had endorsed the decree and ordered the removal of data from secure government phones to obstruct investigators.

Mr. Yoon left the courtroom without comment after the ruling; he and his lawyers have a week to appeal. The sentence is the first in eight separate trials related to his declaration of martial law, which lasted six hours, during which he had banned political activities and sent troops to take over the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

Key Topics

Politics, Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea, Martial Law, Presidential Security Service, Seoul