SEOUL -- A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison on charges including obstructing his arrest, marking the first criminal verdict in a series of cases stemming from his actions during the December 2024 martial law crisis.
The ruling is the first judicial decision to address the illegality of both the declaration and implementation of martial law.
The court found that Yoon mobilized presidential security officials to block authorities from executing a lawful arrest warrant at his residence. He was also found to have infringed on the right of nine cabinet members to deliberate on the declaration of martial law by convening only a limited number of handpicked ministers, an apparent attempt to make the meeting appear official.
The proceedings were broadcast live as Yoon attended the hearing wearing a white shirt and navy suit and showed no visible reaction throughout, including when the court delivered the sentence.
“Despite having a greater duty than anyone else as president to uphold the Constitution, he instead disregarded measures designed to prevent presidential arbitrariness,” Judge Baek Dae-hyun of the Seoul Central District Court said.
Earlier this week, prosecutors sought the death penalty for Yoon in a separate trial on charges of leading an insurrection. Prosecutors argued his alleged actions posed a grave threat to the constitutional order and warranted the maximum punishment allowed under South Korean law. Insurrection is one of the few crimes still punishable by death in the country.