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Seoul Court Sentences Yoon Suk Yeol to Five Years for Obstructing Arrest

The decision is the first judgment tied to his 2024 martial law declaration.

Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs and flags outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs as police officers stand guard outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hold signs outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
A supporter of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a bus carrying former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outside Seoul Central District Court, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Overview

  • The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Yoon obstructed investigators from the anti-corruption office who tried to detain him in January 2025.
  • Judges affirmed that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials acted under a valid search-and-arrest warrant.
  • Yoon mobilized the Presidential Security Service and police to blockade his residence and contended the office lacked jurisdiction over insurrection allegations.
  • Special counsel Cho Eun-suk sought a combined 10-year term across multiple charges and described Yoon’s conduct as a “grave crime” that “privatized” state institutions.
  • Yoon still faces seven additional trials, with a verdict in the insurrection case scheduled for Feb. 19.