The court stated Yoon ordered the Presidential Security Service to block investigators, excluded Cabinet members, drafted and destroyed martial law documents, and deleted records from secure military phones
SEOUL
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday after being found guilty on multiple charges linked to obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
The Seoul Central District Court delivered its first ruling related to Yoon’s short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024, a move that triggered political turmoil and legal action.
The court said Yoon ordered the Presidential Security Service to block investigators attempting to detain him in January last year. He was also accused of excluding Cabinet members from a key meeting, drafting and later destroying documents linked to the martial law order, and deleting records from secure military phones.
Judges found him guilty on most charges, though he was cleared of violating the rights of two Cabinet members and ordering false press statements. The court said the former president showed no remorse and described the nature of the crimes as serious.
Special prosecutors had sought a ten-year sentence, calling Yoon’s actions a grave misuse of state institutions to hide wrongdoing. The court, however, handed down a reduced five-year term.
The ruling also confirmed that investigators acted within their legal authority while probing the former president, rejecting claims of political targeting.
The verdict is expected to influence another major case, in which Yoon faces charges of leading an insurrection through the martial law decree. Prosecutors earlier demanded the death penalty in that case.
The court is scheduled to rule on the insurrection charges on February 19. Yoon is currently facing eight separate trials involving the martial law attempt, corruption allegations linked to his wife, and the death of marine.