The Central District Court in Seoul has sentenced former South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to five years in prison. The basis for the charges stemmed from actions related to the declaration of martial law in December 2024, particularly obstructing arrests, as reported by the Yonhap agency.
This decision marks the first in judicial practice regarding cases involving the former leader of the country. The Korea Herald notes that the prosecution sought a harsher punishment — a total of 10 years: five years for resisting arrest, two years for retroactively revising the martial law decree, and three years for violating the rights of government members, spreading false information in foreign media, and destroying evidence.
In early January of last year, the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) attempted to arrest Yoon Suk-yeol after he repeatedly ignored summons for questioning in a case of treason. A warrant for his arrest and search was issued by the court; however, after several hours of standoff with the president's security, investigators decided to abandon the arrest.
