South Korea Demands 10-Year Prison Sentence for Former President

The prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea has requested a 10-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of obstructing justice, according to Deutsche Welle.

The former president was previously sentenced to five years in prison for barricading himself in the presidential residence and attempting to obstruct his arrest process in January 2025. He also faces charges related to the violation of the rights of nine cabinet members who were not invited to a session regarding his plans to impose martial law, and for disseminating false information to the foreign press about the imposition of martial law, as well as destroying recorded conversations from phones used by the country’s military leadership.

Additionally, he faces another two years of imprisonment for drafting and subsequently destroying a false order to impose martial law. Prosecutors assert that the former president committed serious crimes to conceal and justify his illegal decisions. Yoon Suk-yeol, currently in a correctional facility, denies all charges.