South Korea court sentences ex-president to 5 years in martial law case

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol found guilty of obstructing justice and other charges linked to declaring martial law in 2024.

A court in South Korea has sentenced the country’s former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, to five years in jail after finding him guilty on charges stemming from his declaration of martial law in December 2024, a live broadcast of the ruling showed.

Yoon was found guilty on Friday of charges that include obstructing authorities from executing an arrest warrant related to his martial law declaration, as well as fabricating official documents and failing to comply with the legal process required to impose martial law.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4S Korean firefighters tackle huge blaze in last of Seoul’s ‘shanty towns’
• list 2 of 4US seizes sixth tanker as Venezuela’s interim leader vows oil sector reform
• list 3 of 4UN Security Council holds emergency meeting on deadly protests in Iran
• list 4 of 4Trump welcomes Venezuela’s Maria Corina Machado in closed-door meeting

The rulings are the first related to a range of criminal charges Yoon faces over his botched martial law declaration in December 2024.

Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton, reporting from South Korea’s capital Seoul, said Yoon’s supporters had gathered outside the court on Friday and were chanting to express their unhappiness with the verdict after he was found guilty on all charges.

“It’s not a good sign,” Barton said, explaining that the ex-president still faces the most serious charge of insurrection.

“These charges are not really related to the main event. That is the insurrection trial that is still ongoing,” he said.

“So, guilty on all of those charges and, again, this feeds into that main trial [for insurrection]. We are expecting that verdict in February,” he added.

Yoon was previously impeached, arrested and then dismissed as president after his short-lived imposition of martial law in 2024, which triggered huge public protests calling for his removal.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow shortly.