South Korean court sentences ex-President Yoon to 7 years for charges
including resisting arrest
[April 29, 2026]
By KIM TONG-HYUNG
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean appeals court on Wednesday
sentenced ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years in prison for
resisting arrest and bypassing a legitimate Cabinet meeting before his
brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.
The conviction for obstruction of justice and other charges comes on top
of a life sentence he has already received on rebellion charges stemming
from his baffling authoritarian push, which triggered the most serious
crisis for the country’s democracy in decades.
Judge Yoon Sung-sik of the Seoul High Court said the conservative former
president sidestepped a legally mandated full Cabinet meeting before
declaring martial law, falsified documents to conceal the lapse, and
deployed security officials “like a private army” to resist law
enforcement efforts to arrest him in the weeks following his
impeachment. Former President Yoon stood quietly as the verdict was
delivered and made no comment.
Yoo Jeong-hwa, one of Yoon’s lawyers, called the verdict “very
disappointing” and said the legal team would appeal to the Supreme
Court. Yoon has also appealed his life sentence.
A lower court in January sentenced Yoon to five years in prison but
partially cleared him of abuse-of-power charges tied to the Cabinet
meeting ahead of the martial law declaration, finding he was not
responsible for the failure to attend of two members who were invited.
The Seoul High Court reversed that acquittal, finding him guilty on all
counts and ruling that he violated the rights of those two as well as
seven other Cabinet members who weren’t notified by convening only a
select few to simulate a formal meeting.
Though brief, Yoon’s Dec. 3, 2024, martial law decree threw the country
into a severe political crisis, paralyzing politics and high-level
diplomacy and rattling financial markets. The turmoil eased only after
his liberal rival, Lee Jae Myung, won an early presidential election in
June.
[to top of second column]
|
Supporters of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a
rally outside of the Seoul High Court in Seoul, South Korea,
Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Yoon was suspended from office on Dec. 14, 2024, after being
impeached by the liberal-led legislature and was formally removed by
the Constitutional Court in April 2025.
Following his suspension from office, he refused to comply with a
Seoul court's warrant to detain him for questioning, setting up a
standoff in which dozens of investigators arrived at the
presidential residence in early January 2025 but were blocked by
presidential security forces and vehicle barricades. He was detained
later that month, released by another court in March, and was then
re-arrested in July.
He remained in custody after that as a series of criminal trials,
which are continuing, began.
Wednesday’s ruling came a day after the same court increased to four
years the sentence of Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, for charges
including accepting luxury gifts from the Unification Church, which
sought political favors from Yoon’s government, and involvement in a
stock price manipulation scheme.
Prosecutors in a separate trial last week also requested a 30-year
prison term for Yoon over allegations that he deliberately tried to
escalate tensions with North Korea in 2024 by ordering drone flights
over Pyongyang as he sought to create justifiable conditions for
martial law at home.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
