South Korea court rules Against Ex-President Yoon in First Martial Law-Related Conviction

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Seoul: A South Korean court has sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prisonafter finding him guilty on charges linked to his controversial attempt to impose martial law in December 2024, marking the first criminal verdict arising from the political crisis that shook the country.

The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Yoon obstructed justice by using the presidential security service to block investigators from executing an arrest warrant and abused his power by bypassing legal procedures required for a martial law declaration. He was also found guilty of fabricating official documents. The ruling was broadcast live.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun said that the actions of the former president including narrowing a cabinet meeting to only his loyal ministers and manipulating official paperwork demonstrated a serious disregard for constitutional requirements governing extraordinary measures such as martial law.

Yoon has the right to appeal the verdict, and his legal team criticised the ruling as politically motivated.

This sentence is the first of eight criminal trials Yoon faces over the martial law declaration and related conduct, including a separate case in which prosecutors have sought the death penaltyon charges of insurrection. A verdict in that trial is expected on Feb. 19.

Yoon’s declaration of martial law in December 2024 which was repealed by Parliament amid mass protests and followed by his impeachment and removal from office remains one of the most dramatic constitutional crises in South Korea’s recent history.