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The court is located South Korea disgraced former president Yin Xiyeol within five years prison on Friday after he was found guilty of a number of charges related to charges he had unsuccessfully committed martial law at home.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of obstructing authorities from executing an arrest warrant related to his declaration of martial law in December 2024. The court also found him guilty of charges including forging official documents and failing to comply with legal procedures required under martial law.
“The defendant abused his considerable influence as president to prevent security service officials from executing legitimate arrest warrants, effectively privatizing officials … loyal to the Republic of Korea for their personal security and personal gain,” the chief judge of the three-judge panel said during a televised hearing.
Judge Baek Dae-hyun said “severe punishment” was necessary because Yin showed no remorse and just repeated “incomprehensible excuses.”
“The defendant’s guilt is extremely serious,” he said, according to local media.
Yoon evaded arrest for weeks in his compound and was protected by hundreds of loyal members of the Presidential Security Service.
He was eventually detained in a pre-dawn raid when security forces stormed past a bus barricade, through a barbed wire fence and used a ladder to enter the compound, where he was surrounded by guards. Yoon was arrested as the first sitting president in South Korean history.
He later claimed he had cooperated to prevent “bloodshed”.
It was the first verdict against Yin in eight criminal trials stemming from decrees issued in 2024 and other charges. The most important charge against him is that he led a rebellion related to martial law, which carries a possible death sentence.
Yoon, who is currently being held at a Seoul detention center, has not responded publicly to the ruling. Speaking outside the court immediately after the verdict, one of his lawyers, Yoo Jung Hwa, said the former president would appeal. “We regret the politicized manner in which the decision was taken,” she said.
When an independent lawyer earlier asked for a 10-year sentence on the charges, the former president’s defense team accused them of being politically motivated and lacking the legal basis to demand such an “excessive” sentence.
Chung Ching-rae, leader of the ruling Democratic Party, reacted to the verdict, saying “the suppression of the rebellion has just begun.”
“From five years in prison to the death penalty, every bit of rebellion must be punished under the principle of zero tolerance. Eliminating rebellion in the Republic of Korea cannot be accomplished through leniency,” she said in a Facebook post.
Yin insists that he does not intend to put the country under military rule for long, saying his decree is simply to educate the people about the dangers of a liberal-controlled parliament that blocks his agenda. But investigators believe his decree was an attempt to consolidate and prolong his rule, charging him with rebellion, abuse of power and other criminal offenses.
Mr Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law sparked massive public protests calling for his resignation, and he was subsequently impeached, arrested and removed from the presidency.
Congress, with the participation of some members of Yun’s conservative party, voted within hours to overturn Yun’s unexpected martial law order, leading to his impeachment and subsequent suspension of power.
He was dismissed from his post by the State Council in April last year. Constitutional Court It was ruled that he had breached his duties.