Seoul, Jan 16 (.) South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to five years in prison for abuse of power, obstructing justice, and falsifying documents in connection with his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024.
The verdict was handed down by the Seoul Central District Court.
This is the first verdict among four trials related to Yoon’s brief martial law declaration in December 2024. Though short-lived, the move sparked nationwide protests and prompted lawmakers to rush to the National Assembly to overturn his decision.
“Yoon’s actions plunged the country into political crisis,” the judge said Friday, noting that the former president had “consistently shown no remorse.”
At Seoul’s Central District Court on Friday, Judge Baek Dae-hyun said Yoon had failed to uphold the Constitution and rule of law.
“Despite having a duty, above all others, to uphold the Constitution and observe the rule of law as president, the defendant instead displayed an attitude that disregarded the … Constitution,” Al Jazeera said Baek as saying.
Friday’s ruling may offer insight into the outcomes of Yoon’s remaining trials, which include charges ranging from abuse of power to violations of campaign law.
The court found that Yoon obstructed investigators attempting to detain him in January last year, violated the rights of Cabinet members who were not consulted on his martial law plan, and drafted and subsequently destroyed a revised martial law proclamation after the decree was lifted, Yonhap News reported.
He was also accused of ordering the deletion of records from secure military phones. He was acquitted of some charges related to press statements and the rights of two Cabinet members.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun, speaking during the hearing attended by Yoon and broadcast live, described the crimes as “very serious” and said that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials had acted within its authority.
Special prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence, calling Yoon’s actions a “grave crime” that involved privatising state institutions to conceal and justify his acts.
The ruling sets the stage for a separate trial scheduled for February 19, in which prosecutors have accused Yoon of leading an insurrection during his brief martial law attempt and are seeking the death penalty.
Yoon faces a total of eight trials, including cases connected to his wife’s alleged corruption and the 2023 death of a Marine. This marks the third time a former South Korean president’s trial has been broadcast live, following the televised proceedings of Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak in 2018, Yonhap News reported.
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