South Korean ex-president faces 10-year prison sentence over martial law bid
Prosecutors request a 10-year prison sentence during the final hearing of Yoon Suk-yeol's trial at Seoul Central District Court.
South Korean prosecutors have sought a 10-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk-yeol over obstruction of justice and other charges related to his attempt in 2024 to impose martial law, local media reported.
Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested the sentence during the final hearing of Yoon's trial on Friday at the Seoul Central District Court, according to local Yonhap News.
The trial focuses on allegations that the former president obstructed justice by preventing investigators from detaining him in January, violated the rights of nine Cabinet members excluded from a meeting on his martial law plan, and drafted and destroyed a revised proclamation after the decree was lifted.
Yoon is also facing three other trials linked to his failed martial law bid, including charges of leading an insurrection.
The obstruction of justice case is expected to conclude first, with a verdict likely on January 16, while the insurrection trial could run into February.
Yoon was arrested and indicted for leading an insurrection in January, becoming South Korea’s first sitting president to be taken into custody. After being released in March, Yoon was re-arrested in July and remains detained.
The former president was formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April.