South Korea’s Yoon gets 5 years in prison for obstructing justice during martial law bid

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AdvertisementSouth KoreaThis Week in AsiaPoliticsSouth Korea’s Yoon gets 5 years in prison for obstructing justice during martial law bid

The ruling comes days after prosecutors in a separate case demanded Yoon Suk-yeol be sentenced to death for masterminding insurrection

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Supporters of South Korea’s former president Yoon Suk-yeol gather in front of the Seoul Central District Court on Friday. Photo: AFP

Agence France-PresseA South Korean judge sentenced former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing justice and other charges linked to his disastrous martial law declaration and in its chaotic aftermath.The sentence is the first in a series of verdicts for the disgraced ex-leader, who briefly suspended civilian rule in South Korea on December 3, 2024, prompting massive protests and a showdown in parliament.

Now ousted from power, Yoon faces multiple trials for actions taken during that debacle and in the turmoil that followed.

AdvertisementAmong them are charges he committed obstruction of justice by allegedly excluding cabinet members from a martial law planning meeting as well as blocking investigators from detaining him.

The case mainly centres on accusations that Yoon instructed presidential security personnel to block investigators from entering his residential compound to execute an arrest warrant in January last year.

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The first attempt failed after authorities encountered buses parked to block the entrance. They later succeeded in entering the compound and bringing Yoon in for questioning.

The sentencing comes days after prosecutors in a separate case demanded Yoon be sentenced to death for his role as the “ringleader of an insurrection” in orchestrating the imposition of martial law.AdvertisementSelect VoiceChoose your listening speedGet through articles 2x faster1.25×250 WPMSlowAverageFast1.25x

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