The Central District Court of Seoul has sentenced Yoon Suk-yeol, the former president of South Korea, to five years in prison. The charges relate to his actions concerning the imposition of martial law in December 2024, including attempts to obstruct arrest, according to the Yonhap news agency.
This ruling marks the first judicial action against the former South Korean leader. The Korea Herald reports that the prosecution sought a harsher penalty — 10 years of imprisonment, of which five years were to be imposed for resisting arrest, two years for altering the martial law decree after its imposition, and three years for violating the rights of ministers, spreading false information in foreign media, and destroying evidence.
The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), which handles cases involving high-ranking officials, attempted to arrest Yoon Suk-yeol in early January of last year after he ignored subpoenas for questioning related to the treason case three times. The court issued a warrant for his arrest and search, but due to a tense standoff with the president's security, investigators abandoned the arrest.
