Ex-South Korean President Yoon jailed for 5 years over failed martial law bid

By Lisa Visentin January 16, 2026 — 7.00pm Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Singapore: Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted in the first of eight criminal trials relating to his failed bid to impose martial law in 2024. Yoon’s most consequential trial will be finalised next month when a court is due to return its verdict on charges that he masterminded an insurrection, for which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Former president Yoon Suk Yeol at an impeachment hearing in February. Credit: AP Reaching its verdict in the first trial on Friday, a South Korean court found Yoon guilty of obstructing attempts by authorities to arrest him when he holed up in the presidential compound for weeks after he was forced to abandon his martial law decree. He was also found guilty of charges that include fabricating official documents and failing to comply with legal processes required for martial law. Prosecutors had sought a 10-year sentence. “The defendant abused his enormous influence as president to prevent the execution of legitimate warrants through officials from the Security Service, which effectively privatised officials ... loyal to the Republic of Korea for personal safety and personal gain,” the lead judge on the three-justice panel said in a ruling that was televised. Speaking outside the court immediately after the decision, one of Yoon’s lawyers, Yoo Jung-hwa, said the former president would appeal the ruling. Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Seoul in December 2024 demanding then-president Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment after he attempted to impose martial law. Credit: AP “We express regret that the decision was made in a politicised manner,” she said. Yoon has always denied the allegations against him. Advertisement His criminal conviction is the latest step in a profound fall from grace for the former prosecutor turned conservative politician who became the first-ever sitting president in South Korea to be arrested. On December 3, 2024, Yoon sent troops into the national parliament, claiming South Korea was under siege from the majority opposition and “anti-state” forces, sparking an immediate uproar across the country. At the time, his party was governing in minority and was struggling to get bills through the parliament. Loading Yoon withdrew the martial law decree six hours later after opposition MPs voted to reject it and later impeached him, suspending his powers. The move plunged South Korea into its worst political crisis in decades, as thousands of protesters rallied in the streets for weeks, calling for his ouster as he barricaded himself inside the residential compound. The crisis exposed the deep political divisions between the country’s conservative and liberal flanks, as Yoon’s supporters also took to the streets, many channelling US President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement by waving...

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