Former South Korean President Yoon Gets 5-Year Jail Term, Faces Possible Death Penalty
- Worn South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to 5 years in penal advanced for obstruction of justice, with prosecutors moreover searching for the dying penalty in a separate incitement case.
South Korea’s old President, Yoon Suk Yeol, has been sentenced to 5 years in penal advanced after being came upon responsible of obstruction of justice.
The Seoul Central District Court docket ruled on Friday that the 65-yr-former old leader, with the support of the presidential security carrier, tried to block his arrest and ordered the destruction of documents linked to the investigation against him.
Yoon had earlier thrown the country into political turmoil on December 3, 2024, when he declared martial law amid a anxious budget standoff with the opposition. The transfer worried electorate and sparked a indispensable political disaster nationwide.
He defended the declaration at the time, insisting it modified into obligatory to defend South Korea’s democratic clarify. Yoon accused the left-leaning opposition of being infiltrated by communists allegedly linked to China and North Korea, claims he failed to support with proof.
In a separate trial, prosecutors are searching for the dying penalty over costs of incitement. A verdict if that is so is anticipated on February 19. While capital punishment remains lawful in South Korea, executions maintain now not been carried out in nearly 30 years.
Yoon’s actions moreover rattled worldwide merchants, ensuing in stalled investments and adverse South Korea’s popularity as a politically and economically stable nation.
Since last summer season, the country has been led by President Lee Jae Myung, a left-leaning centrist and prolonged-time political rival of Yoon.
