Overview
- Judges found Yoon guilty of mobilizing the Presidential Security Service to block a lawful arrest, fabricating official documents, and bypassing required cabinet procedures for declaring martial law.
- Presiding Judge Baek Dae-hyun said Yoon showed no remorse and described a severe punishment as necessary to restore the rule of law.
- Yoon’s lawyers said they will appeal, calling the decision politicized and arguing the court blurred the line between presidential authority and criminal liability.
- The court affirmed that the anti-corruption agency had authority to investigate a sitting president in this context and ruled the arrest warrant and search were lawful.
- A separate insurrection case carries a potential death sentence at prosecutors’ request, with a verdict scheduled for Feb. 19 after Yoon’s brief 2024 martial law bid led to impeachment and removal from office.