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South Korean Court Sentences Ex-President Yoon Suk-yeol to Five Years for Obstructing Arrest

The ruling is the first of eight criminal cases against Yoon, including a separate mutiny charge for which prosecutors have sought the death penalty.

Overview

  • The Central District Court of Seoul imposed a five-year prison term after prosecutors sought a ten-year sentence in the obstruction case.
  • Judges found Yoon impeded officers in January 2025, when his presidential security service blocked an initial arrest and investigators detained him on a second attempt.
  • The court concluded he prepared an updated martial-law declaration, tried to delete secure call logs, and affirmed the Anti-Corruption Office’s authority to investigate the mutiny allegations.
  • This decision is a first-instance verdict that is subject to appeal within South Korea’s three-tier judicial system.
  • Yoon faces seven additional trials, four linked to the martial-law episode, with a first-instance mutiny verdict expected on February 19 after prosecutors requested the death penalty on January 13.