A South Korean appeals court increased the prison sentence of the country's former spy chief from 18 months to two and a half years on Wednesday on charges linked to former President Yoon Suk-yeol's failed martial law attempt in 2024, local media reported.
The Seoul High Court handed down the sentence after finding National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director Cho Tae-yong guilty of engaging in political activities by making false statements that Yoon had not ordered the arrest of politicians, days after his short-lived imposition of martial law, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"The defendant directly participated in political debate by delivering false statements that no such order had been issued despite having received a report of an arrest order on the day of the martial law declaration," the court said.
Under the country's intelligence service laws, the agency's personnel are banned from engaging in political activities.
The special counsel had requested a seven-year prison term for Cho.
A lower court earlier sentenced Cho to 18 months in prison after convicting him of perjury.
The court, however, had cleared him of most other charges, including dereliction of duty for allegedly failing to immediately inform the National Assembly of Yoon's plan to arrest politicians under martial law.
The appellate court upheld the lower court's ruling, acquitting Cho of the dereliction of duty charge, declaring that it was difficult to determine whether he was required to inform the National Assembly once he learned of the plan.
