A South Korean court has sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to 5 years in prison, delivering the first criminal verdict linked to his failed attempt to impose martial law in late 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of mobilising the presidential security service to block authorities from executing an arrest warrant as well as fabricating official documents and failing to follow legal procedures required for a martial law declaration including cabinet deliberation.
“The defendant abused his enormous influence as president to prevent the execution of legitimate warrants,” the lead judge declared in court.
Yoon’s legal team said he would file an appeal. Yoon Suk Yeol’s attorney, Yoo Jung Hwa stated outside of court, “We express regret that the decision was made in a politicised manner.”
The case is part of a sprawling legal reckoning set off by Yoon’s surprise martial law decree on 3 December 2024, a move that stunned South Korea and prompted lawmakers to act within hours to override the order.
The emergency measure lasted about 6 hours before it was lifted but it detonated a political crisis that ultimately ended Yoon’s presidency.
Investigators later sought to arrest Yoon as multiple probes gathered pace. Yoon barricaded himself inside his residential compound in January 2025 and ordered the security service to block investigators, forcing authorities to mount a second attempt involving more than 3,000 police officers.
The National Assembly impeached Yoon after the martial law episode and the Constitutional Court removed him from office in April 2025, ruling he had violated the duties of his office.
While Friday’s sentence deals with obstruction and related offences, Yoon faces separate proceedings that carry much higher stakes.
Prosecutors have asked a court in another trial to sentence him to death over allegations he masterminded an insurrection by attempting to impose military rule without justification and to suspend parliament.
Yoon has argued his actions were within his presidential authority and framed the martial law declaration as a warning about political deadlock.
A small group of supporters gathered outside the court complex ahead of the hearing while police maintained a heavy presence in central Seoul.
Yoon is being held at the Seoul Detention Center while the appeal process begins.
For more on Penny Wong’s foreign policy messaging this week, see our coverage of her comments after Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gifted her Nobel prize medal to US President Donald Trump.
