&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "South Korea’s ousted leader Yoon gets 5 years in prison for failed martial law bid")
A South Korean court on Friday (Jan 16) found former president Yoon Suk Yeol guilty of obstructing justice and other charges linked to his attempt to impose martial law in the country last year. The court sentenced him to five years in prison over the charges of obstructing authorities from executing an arrest warrant related to his martial law declaration in December 2024.
Yoon is facing multiple trials for attempting to impose military rule in the country that led to massive protests and a showdown in parliament.
Seoul’s Central District Court Judge Baek Dae-hyun said that Yoon was found guilty of obstruction of justice by blocking investigators from detaining him. He was also found guilty of excluding cabinet members from a martial law planning meeting.
“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,” Baek. “The defendant's culpability is extremely grave.”
However, Yoon was not guilty of forging official documents due to a lack of evidence, the judge added. He has seven days to appeal. Meanwhile, prosecutors had called for a 10-year prison term. Yoon had insisted no law was broken.
In a separate case, prosecutors are demanding that Yoon be sentenced to death for playing a role as the “ringleader of an insurrection” in orchestrating the imposition of martial law. They argued that the former leader had shown “no remorse” for his actions, which threatened the “constitutional order and democracy” and deserved the severest possible punishment.
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Yoon was seen smiling in the court as prosecutors demanded the punishment. He maintained that his martial law declaration was a lawful exercise of his presidential power. On Tuesday, he defended himself by saying that the “exercise of a president's constitutional emergency powers to protect the nation and uphold the constitutional order cannot be deemed an act of insurrection.”
He also accused the then-opposition party of imposing “unconstitutional dictatorship.” He said, “There was no other option but to awaken the people, who are the sovereign.”
The court is expected to deliver a verdict on the insurrection charges on February 19. Yoon is also facing charges of assisting the enemy, over allegations that he ordered drone flights over North Korea to bolster his case for declaring martial law.
