South Korean Appeals Court Sentences Former President Yoon To Seven Years In Prison
South Korean appeals court sentences ex-president Yoon over martial law and obstruction charges.
A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday sentenced former President Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years in prison on charges including resisting arrest and bypassing a legally required Cabinet meeting prior to his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024. The ruling marks a major escalation in a legal and political fallout that has engulfed the country since the controversial decree.
The Seoul High Court found Yoon guilty of obstruction of justice and related offences, overturning parts of a lower court ruling issued in January. While the earlier judgment had sentenced him to five years and partially cleared him of abuse-of-power charges, the appeals court expanded the findings and imposed a harsher punishment. The verdict was delivered in court with Yoon remaining silent and offering no immediate comment.
According to the court, Yoon bypassed a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before declaring martial law and later falsified documents to conceal procedural lapses. The judges also ruled that he mobilised security personnel “like a private army” in an attempt to resist law enforcement efforts to detain him following his impeachment, which raised serious concerns about abuse of presidential authority.
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The case stems from Yoon’s declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, an action that triggered a severe constitutional crisis in South Korea. The move paralysed political activity, disrupted diplomatic engagement, and unsettled financial markets. The crisis eased only after opposition leader Lee Jae Myung won an early presidential election in June 2025, restoring political stability.
Yoon was suspended from office on December 14, 2024, after being impeached by the liberal-led legislature and was formally removed from the presidency by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. His refusal to comply with a court-issued detention warrant led to a standoff with investigators in early 2025, followed by multiple periods of detention and release as related criminal proceedings unfolded.
The latest ruling comes amid a broader set of legal challenges linked to his administration. A separate court recently increased the prison sentence of his wife, Kim Keon Hee, on corruption-related charges, while prosecutors in another case have sought a 30-year sentence for Yoon over allegations involving provocative military actions toward North Korea in 2024. Further trials and legal proceedings against the former president are still ongoing.
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