South Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has been discovered guilty of abuse of energy and falsifying paperwork over his failed martial law bid in 2024.
A Seoul court is now deliberating on whether he also obstructed the course of justice by evading arrest. Prosecutors have sought a 10-year jail time period for this set of expenses.
This is the first of the verdicts in 4 trials linked to his shock martial law decree. Although short-lived, the transfer plunged the nation into turmoil, sparking protests as MPs rushed to the national meeting to overturn Yoon’s choice.
Friday’s ruling affords clues as to how the relaxation of Yoon’s trials could go. Charges vary from the abuse of energy to marketing campaign law violations.
The most critical charge is rebel, for which prosecutors have demanded the death penalty. The verdict in that trial is expected in February.
On Friday, the court will determine whether Yoon is guilty of utilizing presidential bodyguards to forestall his arrest; failing to seek the advice of his total cupboard before declaring martial law; drafting and then destroying a falsified doc claiming the martial law bid had been endorsed by the prime minister and defence minister.
Yoon denied the expenses, arguing that the arrest warrant itself was invalid and that the letter of the law does not require him to seek the advice of every member of the cupboard before exercising emergency energy.
He has claimed across his trials that investigators had no legal foundation to probe and arrest him in the first place. Most of the accusations against him are invalid because there was no procedural lapse when he declared martial law, he argues.
South Korea’s courts usually grant leniency when the accused accepts guilt or accountability. But prosecutors argue that Yoon’s lack of regret is grounds for an even more extreme penalty.
Park Geun-hye, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for abuse of energy and bribery in 2021, was the last former president to be jailed for a felony charge. But she was pardoned and launched from prison shortly after.
Six months after Yoon’s martial law attempt, voters elected opposition chief Lee Jae Myung in a decisive victory .
But Yoon’s trials convey the highlight back to deep divisions in South Korea, where the former president retains sturdy supporters who see him as a martyr. According to a survey carried out last December, almost 30% of South Koreans did not believe that Yoon’s martial law declaration amounted to an rebel.
While his martial law attempt introduced tens of 1000’s of protesters onto the streets, it also saw his supporters show up in counter protests, though in smaller numbers.
On Friday, around 100 pro-Yoon protesters gathered outside the court in Seoul forward of the verdict.
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