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Former President Yoon Suk-yeol and his counsel sit on the defendant’s desk throughout the studying of the decision in his trial on expenses of obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant, amongst others, on Jan. 16, 2026. (nonetheless from HankyorehTV)
In its verdict in Yoon Suk-yeol’s trial for obstruction of justice and different expenses, a court docket dominated that the previous Korean president had “overtly violated” the Structure and the Martial Regulation Act and proven “contempt for protocols designed to dam the arbitrary abuse of energy.”
At 2 pm on Friday, Choose Baek Dae-hyeon of the Seoul Central District Court docket handed Yoon a five-year jail sentence for blocking the execution of an arrest warrant towards him issued by the Corruption Investigation Workplace for Excessive-ranking Officers. For these actions, he was charged with aggravated obstruction of the execution of official enterprise.
“Since martial regulation carries the intense threat of infringing upon primary civil rights, it ought to solely be declared beneath distinctive circumstances,” the court docket stated in its ruling on Friday.
“Cupboard conferences are designed to forestall the president from overstepping his authority and to curb arbitrary motion,” the court docket stated, noting that in Yoon’s preparations for martial regulation, he should have been “prudent and paid even nearer consideration than common to the opinions of all his Cupboard members.”
“Nonetheless, the defendant solely notified sure Cupboard members in regards to the assembly in a blatant violation of the Structure and the Martial Regulation Act,” the court docket stated.
“Removed from stopping there, the defendant went on to assist the prime minister and related public officers draft a false official doc, which he later arbitrarily destroyed. It was the defendant’s paramount obligation as president to defend the Constitutional order, however he evinced an execrable contempt for protocols designed to dam the arbitrary abuse of energy.”
In different phrases, the court docket discovered that Yoon had damaged the regulation when he solely summoned sure Cupboard members for the assembly held to evaluation his declaration of martial regulation and when he signed a martial regulation proclamation composed after the very fact by his deputy chief of employees, Kang Eui-gu.
On Jan. 13, 2026, former President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks on the last listening to of his trial on expenses of main an rebel together with his abortive declaration of martial regulation one yr earlier. (courtesy of the Seoul Central District Court docket)
The court docket continued: “Whereas the defendant was being investigated for his abrogation of the rule of regulation, he mobilized public servants within the Presidential Safety Service to dam the lawful execution of an [arrest] warrant and tried to destroy proof. When Yoon abused his authority to dam the execution of the warrant, he was solely involved with defending himself, which amounted to turning the Presidential Safety Service into non-public bodyguards.”
“This sort of obstruction of justice is a severe crime, and given the circumstances of this case, the defendant’s crimes are very grave,” the court docket stated.
“The defendant has not proven any regret for his wrongdoing, and extreme punishment is required to redress the harm inflicted on the rule of regulation by the crimes he dedicated as president,” the court docket stated, whereas issuing Yoon a five-year jail sentence.
Earlier, prosecutors beneath particular counsel Cho Eun-seok had requested the court docket for a 10-year jail sentence: 5 years for blocking the execution of the arrest warrant; three years for infringing on Cupboard members’ rights to evaluation essential issues, destruction of proof on safe telephones, and promulgation of false details about the martial regulation declaration; and two years for composing a martial regulation proclamation after the very fact.
The court docket acquitted Yoon on a few of these expenses, together with the promulgation of false data.
By Park Ji-young, employees reporter; Jung Hwan-bong, employees reporter
Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]
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