Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to five years in jail over crimes relating to his failed attempt at imposing martial law in the country.
Yoon's botched bid to put his country under military rule in late 2024 plunged it into political turmoil and eventually led to his impeachment and removal from office.
The 65-year-old was today found guilty of obstruction of official duties, abuse of power, falsification of official documents and destruction of evidence.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled Yoon had resisted arrest for weeks after his impeachment by barricading himself inside the presidential compound.
He was also found guilty of failing to consult a legally required full cabinet meeting before announcing martial law, and ordering evidence be deleted from phones.
The sentencing is the first resolution of four trials related to the martial law declaration.
"The defendant abused his enormous influence as president to prevent the execution of legitimate warrants through officials from the Security Service, which effectively privatised officials … loyal to the Republic of Korea for personal safety and personal gain," the lead judge on the three-justice panel said.
Speaking outside the court immediately after the decision, one of Yoon's lawyers, Yoo Jung-hwa, said the former president would appeal the ruling.
"We express regret that the decision was made in a politicised manner," she said.
The most serious charge of launching an insurrection will be ruled on in February and prosecutors have revealed they will be seeking the death penalty.
Yoon has always denied the allegations.
He could have faced up to 10 years in jail over the obstruction charges related to when he barricaded himself inside his residential compound in January last year and ordered the security service to block investigators.
Yoon was finally arrested in a second attempt involving more than 3,000 police officers. His arrest was the first ever for a sitting president in South Korea.
Yoon's attempt to impose martial law in December 2024 saw military personnel deployed on the streets, and regular South Koreans descended on the National Assembly in protest.
At the time, Yoon defended his actions by claiming he was trying to eliminate "anti-state" forces in South Korea as he struggled against an opposition that controlled the country's parliament, and which he accused of sympathising with communist North Korea.
Within hours, the nation's parliament voted to reject Yoon's martial law declaration and the order was lifted, but it sparked political turmoil including the eventual impeachment of the president.
He was removed from office in April last year by the Constitutional Court, which ruled he violated the duties of his office.
ABC/Reuters
