Former President Yoon Sentenced to 7 Years for Obstructing Arrest; First Supreme Court Ruling in 583 Days

[Anchor]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to seven years in prison for obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant issued against him. This leaves seven remaining cases, including the most significant charge of being the ringleader of an insurrection.

Legal affairs correspondent Im Chanjong reports.

[Reporter]

The Supreme Court ruling against former President Yoon concerns charges that can be categorized into five areas, including obstruction of arrest.

These include obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) following the December 3 emergency martial law declaration, infringing upon the deliberation rights of cabinet members during the martial law declaration process, creating and subsequently destroying false covers for the martial law declaration document, and ordering the distribution of press releases containing false information to foreign media.

The case was handled by the Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court, consisting of four justices, rather than the full bench. Justice Oh Seok-joon recused himself from the trial, mindful of controversy regarding his past ties to former President Yoon.

The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's decision, which found him guilty on most charges, and confirmed the seven-year prison sentence.

This marks the first final Supreme Court ruling on criminal charges related to the insurrection case against former President Yoon, 583 days after the emergency martial law declaration.

Notably, the Supreme Court provided a detailed explanation for why the CIO's investigative authority is recognized, effectively eliminating any room for Yoon's side to raise the same issue in the trial regarding the insurrection ringleader charges.

[Justice Lee Heung-gu / Presiding Judge: (The defendant's charge of being the ringleader of an insurrection) is a crime directly related to the investigation of abuse of power, falling under Article 2, Subparagraph 4, Item (d) of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials; therefore, the CIO has investigative authority over it.]

Former President Yoon's legal team expressed "deep regret that the case was concluded without sufficient deliberation," adding that they "will pursue a constitutional complaint procedure with the Constitutional Court."

Meanwhile, Park Jong-jun, former Chief of the Presidential Security Service, and Kim Sung-hoon, former Deputy Chief of the Presidential Security Service, who were indicted for obstructing the CIO's execution of the arrest warrant, were sentenced to four years and five years in prison, respectively, in the first trial.

(Video reporting: Yang Hyun-chul, Video editing: So Ji-hye)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.