A South Korean judge sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison on Friday for obstruction of justice and other crimes related to his disastrous declaration of martial law and its chaotic aftermath.
It is the first in a series of sentences for the disgraced former leader, whose brief suspension of civilian rule in South Korea on December 3, 2024 sparked massive protests and a showdown in parliament.
Now out of power, he faces multiple trials for actions taken during this debacle and the turmoil that followed.
On Friday, Judge Baek Dae-hyun at the Seoul Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of obstructing justice by preventing investigators from detaining him.
Yoon was also found guilty of excluding cabinet members from a martial law planning meeting.
“Despite his primary duty as president to uphold the Constitution and uphold the rule of law, the defendant instead displayed an attitude that disrespected … the Constitution,” Baek said.
“The guilt of the defendant is extremely serious,” he said.
But Yoon was not found guilty of forging official documents due to a lack of evidence, the judge said.
Yoon has seven days to appeal, he added.
Prosecutors demanded 10 years in prison, while Yoon insisted no law had been broken.
Yoon defiant
This comes days after prosecutors in a separate case demanded that Yoon be sentenced to death for his role as a “rebellion leader” in orchestrating the declaration of martial law.
They argued that Yoon deserved the harshest possible sentence because he had shown “no remorse” for actions that threatened “constitutional order and democracy.”
If he is found guilty, it is highly unlikely that the sentence will actually be carried out, as South Korea has had an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.
Yoon smiled in court as prosecutors sought the sentence.
And the former leader and top prosecutor remained defiant, saying his declaration of martial law was a lawful exercise of his presidential authority.
In Tuesday’s closing remarks, he insisted that “the exercise of the president’s constitutional emergency powers to protect the nation and uphold constitutional order cannot be considered an act of rebellion.”
He accused the then opposition party of establishing an “unconstitutional dictatorship” through control of the legislature.
“There was no other option but to wake up the people who are sovereign.”
The court is expected to rule on the rebellion charges on February 19.
Yoon also faces a separate trial on charges of aiding the enemy over allegations he ordered drone flights over North Korea to support his case for martial law.
