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.
U.S. President Donald Trump forcefully criticised Pope Leo XIV late on Sunday in an unusually direct attack on the leader of the global Catholic Ch...
Maritime traffic in and out of Iran will be controlled by the U.S. military Washington said. Iran warns of harsh response to the blockade. A two-we...
Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day as the country’s worsening hunger crisis pushes communities closer to famine...
Cement maker Lafarge was found guilty by a French court on Monday (13 April) of paying millions to jihadist groups, including ISIS, to keep a plant...
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that talks with Pakistan had been positive, while Türkiye stressed the importance of stron...
U.S. President Donald Trump forcefully criticised Pope Leo XIV late on Sunday in an unusually direct attack on the leader of the global Catholic Church, triggering a backlash from religious leaders and believers worldwide.
At a time of deepening global polarisation, rising conflict and shrinking space for dialogue, Pakistan is stepping into a historic role. Diplomatic engagements in Islamabad, bringing together regional powers amid the Iran crisis, signal both urgency and opportunity.
The Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that the U.S. hegemonic approach has been the main obstacle to reaching a fair agreement, his office announced on Monday.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed on Monday to upgrade bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, placing defence cooperation at its core.
Hungarians vote in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators held their highest-level talks in half a century in Pakistan on Saturday in an effort to end their six-week war, as President Donald Trump said the U.S. military had begun the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede at Haiti’s Laferrière Citadel World Heritage Site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Israel has reprimanded Spain’s most senior diplomat in Tel Aviv after a giant effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in a Spanish town.
Nine suspects were arrested on Saturday (11 April) in connection with a terror attack targeting a police post in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district.
Millions of people in Sudan are surviving on just one meal a day as the country’s worsening hunger crisis pushes communities closer to famine, humanitarian organisations have warned.
U.S. President Donald Trump forcefully criticised Pope Leo XIV late on Sunday in an unusually direct attack on the leader of the global Catholic Church, triggering a backlash from religious leaders and believers worldwide.
Hungary’s veteran nationalist leader Viktor Orbán has lost power to the centre-right Tisza party in Sunday’s national election after 16 years in office, marking a major political shift that has drawn reactions across Europe and the United States.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk agreed on Monday to upgrade bilateral relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”, placing defence cooperation at its core.
Pope Leo XIV is set to make history this April, becoming the first pontiff ever to visit Algeria. The trip forms part of a wider African tour, taking him to Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon from 13–23 April, and marks his first major overseas trip of 2026.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment