South Korea: Former President Yoon sentenced to 5 years in jail for obstructing his arrest

A court in South Korea on Friday sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison for charges including obstructing attempts to arrest him following his failed bid to impose martial law.

The Seoul Central District Court noted that it found the former South Korean president guilty of obstructing authorities from executing an arrest warrant related to his martial law declaration in December 2024. The whole ruling was shown in a live broadcast.

During the hearing, Yoon was also found guilty of charges that include fabricating official documents and failing to comply with the legal process required for martial law.

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It is pertinent to note that the ruling was the first related to the criminal charges Yoon faces over his botched martial law declaration. It is also open for appeal by a higher court by Yoon’s legal team.

What went down at the hearing

During the televised proceedings, Yoon was accused of abusing his “enormous influence”. “The defendant abused his enormous influence as president to prevent the execution of legitimate warrants through officials from the Security Service, which effectively privatised officials … loyal to the Republic of Korea for personal safety and personal gain,” the lead judge on the three-justice panel said.

While speaking outside the court immediately after the judgment, Yoon’s lawyers, Yoo Jung-hwa, said the former president would appeal the ruling. “We express regret that the decision was made in a politicised manner,” she said. The ruling is significant since the former South Korean president could face the death sentence in a separate trial on a charge of masterminding an insurrection by declaring martial law without justification.

During the hearing, Yoon argued that it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over the obstruction of government by opposition parties.

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Yoon, who also denied Friday’s charges, could have faced up to 10 years in jail over the obstruction charges related to when he barricaded himself inside his residential compound in January last year and ordered the security service to block investigators. He was finally arrested in a second attempt involving more than 3,000 police officers. Yoon’s arrest was the first ever for a sitting president in South Korea.

With inputs from Reuters