A 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 its chaotic aftermath.
It is the first in a series of verdicts for the disgraced ex-leader, whose brief suspension of civilian rule in South Korea on December 3, 2024, prompted 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.
On Friday, Judge Baek Dae-hyun at Seoul’s Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of obstruction of justice by blocking investigators from detaining him.
Yoon 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 said.
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