A South Korean judge sentenced former President Yoon Suk-yeol on Friday to five years in prison for obstructing justice and other crimes linked to his martial law declaration and in its chaotic aftermath.
It is the first in a series of verdicts for the ex-leader, whose brief suspension of civilian rule in South Korea on December 3 2024 prompted massive protests and a showdown in parliament.
Now ousted from power, he faces multiple trials for actions taken during that debacle and in the turmoil that followed.
On Friday, Judge Baek Dae-hyun at Seoul's Central District Court said he found Yoon guilty of obstruction of justice by blocking investigators from detaining him.
Yoon was also found guilty of excluding cabinet members from a martial law planning meeting.
"The defendant's culpability is extremely grave," he said.
But Yoon was not guilty of forging official documents due to a lack of evidence, the judge said.
Prosecutors had called for a 10-year prison term, while Yoon had insisted no law was broken.
It comes days after prosecutors in a separate case demanded Yoon be sentenced to death for his role as the "ringleader of an insurrection" in orchestrating the imposition of martial law.
They argued Yoon deserved the severest possible punishment as he had shown "no remorse" for actions that threatened "constitutional order and democracy".
If he is found guilty, it is highly unlikely the sentence will actually be carried out, as South Korea has had an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.
Yoon was seen smiling in court as the prosecutors demanded the punishment.
The political importance lies in whether the issue moves from public comment into formal action, party response, court record, election authority notice or administrative decision.
