Overview

• The Seoul Western District Court sentenced Kim, 35, to 1.5 years and So, 28, to 1 year in prison for trespassing, property damage, and assault during the January courthouse riot.
• The riot occurred after the court extended Yoon Suk Yeol's detention over his brief declaration of martial law, marking a rare act of political violence against the judiciary in South Korea.
• Prosecutors had sought three-year and two-year sentences for Kim and So, respectively; the court considered their first-time offender status and expressions of remorse in its rulings.
• The court condemned the riot as a retaliatory act driven by an obsessive belief in a political conspiracy against Yoon, describing the consequences as 'horrendous.'
• Further sentencing hearings for four other defendants accused of assaulting police and reporters during the riot are scheduled for Friday, with 59 additional prosecutions ongoing.