Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday after a court found he obstructed authorities from arresting him following his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled on Friday that Yoon unlawfully used the presidential security service to block investigators from executing a court-approved arrest warrant issued as part of a criminal probe into his short-lived martial law declaration.
Judges found that Yoon ordered security officials to prevent authorities from entering his residence and deliberately interfered with legal procedures, including fabricating official documents and failing to follow constitutional requirements governing the declaration of martial law.
“The defendant abused the authority of the presidency to obstruct the execution of legitimate warrants,” the presiding judge said, adding that Yoon effectively mobilised state security resources for personal protection.
Yoon has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that his actions fell within his presidential powers and were intended to highlight what he described as political obstruction by opposition parties. His legal team said the ruling would be appealed, calling the decision politically motivated.
The case marks the first criminal conviction linked to Yoon’s martial law bid, which lasted roughly six hours before parliament voted to overturn it. The declaration triggered a political crisis and led to his impeachment and removal from office by the Constitutional Court in April last year.
Yoon was eventually arrested after a second operation involving thousands of police officers, making him the first sitting South Korean president to be detained. He still faces a separate trial on charges of masterminding an insurrection, which could carry a life sentence or the death penalty.
South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key U.S. ally, has been shaken by the episode, which tested its democratic institutions and constitutional order.
Afghan and Pakistani forces traded airstrikes and artillery fire along the Durand Line on Thursday night, killing dozens on both sides, as Pakistan’...
South Korea will soon cease to be one of the few countries where Google Maps does not function fully, after its security-conscious government reversed...
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear ...
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes acr...
Former President Bill Clinton is set to testify behind closed doors on Friday (27 February) before a congressional panel about his ties to the late se...
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report sent to member states on Friday (27 February).
Pakistan’s declaration of an “open war” with Afghanistan must be understood in the context of months of escalating violence, regional analysts have said, describing the latest developments as a significant shift in the nature of the conflict.
Israeli strikes killed five people in Gaza on Thursday (26 February), according to health officials in the territory. The Israeli military said separately that it had killed a militant who posed an imminent threat to its forces in southern Gaza.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence is reviewing military flight records after files appeared to show that Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet landed at Royal Air Force bases, adding fresh pressure on police who are already examining his movements through several civilian airports.
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 46, authorities said, with 21 people still reported missing. The storms triggered landslides and widespread flooding, displacing thousands across Juiz de Fora and Uba.
The situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint following a deadly incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island, the Kremlin said on Thursday (26 February).
Syria’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery, with economic activity accelerating in recent months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.
The United States has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford near Israel as part of a growing military build-up amid tensions with Iran, while governments around the world urge their citizens to leave parts of the region.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Afghan and Pakistani forces traded airstrikes and artillery fire along the Durand Line on Thursday night, killing dozens on both sides, as Pakistan’s defence minister warned the two countries were now in “open war” after months of escalating clashes.
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a confidential report sent to member states on Friday (27 February).
Former President Bill Clinton is set to testify behind closed doors on Friday (27 February) before a congressional panel about his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Four people were killed and six detained after armed Cuban exiles aboard a Florida-registered speedboat were intercepted at sea on Wednesday, drawing swift reactions from Washington, Havana and Moscow.
Speaking during a closed-door deposition in New York on Thursday (February), former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she did not “recall” ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had “no knowledge of his crimes”.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment