▲ Former President Yoon Suk Yeol gives his final statement during his trial on insurrection charges, stemming from his short-lived imposition of martial law, at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital on Jan. 13, 2026, in this photo provided by the court. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
▲ Former President Yoon Suk Yeol is seen on a TV screen showing his trial on obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from his 2024 declaration of martial law at Seoul Station in the capital on Jan. 16, 2026. (Yonhap)

(4th LD) ex-president-trial

(4th LD) Ex-President Yoon sentenced to 5 years in prison over obstruction of justice, other charges

(ATTN: ADDS comments from ex-President Yoon's lawyers in paras 13-15)

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Yonhap) -- Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to five years in prison Friday on charges that included the obstruction of investigators' attempt to detain him last year.

The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence in the first ruling on charges stemming from Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024.

Chief among the charges in Friday's case was that the then president had ordered the Presidential Security Service to block investigators from executing a warrant to detain him at the official presidential residence in January last year.

Judge Baek Dae-hyun, the presiding judge, chastised Yoon during the hearing attended by the jailed former president and televised live.

"He effectively privatized the armed forces through the public servants of the Presidential Security Service who are loyal to the Republic of Korea for his personal safety and interests," he said.

"Considering the need to restore the rule of law damaged by the defendant's crimes, a severe punishment that matches the guilt is necessary."

The sentence was half of what special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team had requested last month, saying the former president committed a "grave crime" by "privatizing" state institutions with the aim of concealing and justifying his criminal acts.

In addition to obstructing his detention, Yoon was accused of violating the rights of nine Cabinet members who were not called to a meeting to review his martial law plan, and drafting and later destroying a revised proclamation after the martial law decree was lifted.

He was also charged with ordering the distribution of press statements containing falsehoods about the declaration and the deletion of records from secure phones used by then military commanders.

The judge said Yoon was guilty of all charges except with regard to the rights of two of the nine Cabinet members and the order to distribute false press statements.

He said the absence of previous criminal offenses was among the mitigating factors in the sentence, though the "nature of the crimes was very bad" and Yoon showed no remorse.

As the ruling was read, Yoon was visibly nervous and sometimes took deep breaths.

Yoon's lawyers said they would immediately appeal, claiming the court's decision was "unacceptable" and not based on facts found during the investigation.

"The court's ruling is a decision that oversimplifies the boundary between the exercise of a president's constitutional authority and criminal liability," they told the press following the verdict.

"He was the head of state before being an individual named Yoon Suk Yeol."

Meanwhile, the court ruled that the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials acted within the scope of its authority in investigating and executing detention warrants for the then president last year.

The ruling is expected to have implications for next month's verdict on charges that Yoon led an insurrection through his short-lived decree.

Special prosecutors demanded the death penalty for Yoon over the insurrection charge earlier this week. The court is set to rule on the case on Feb. 19.

The former president is standing a total of eight trials in connection with the martial law attempt, his wife's alleged corruption and the 2023 death of a Marine.

This was the third time a former president's trial was broadcast live.

In 2018, the sentencing hearings of former President Park Geun-hye and former President Lee Myung-bak in their respective corruption trials were televised.

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