The public prosecutor’s office in South Korea has for the deposed head of state Yoon Suk Yeol requested a ten-year prison sentence. Yoon is accused of, among other things, obstruction of justice. A verdict in the case is expected in January, according to the Yonhap news agency.
Yoon is accused of distracting government members from a meeting Declaration of martial law to have been excluded. In addition, as acting president, he is said to have prevented investigators from arresting him around a year ago.
A total of four cases are underway against the deposed conservative president. He has already been charged with election fraud, rioting and abuse of office. In November, the public prosecutor’s office also filed charges alleging “favoring the enemy and abuse of office.” Among other things, Yoon is said to have ordered drone flights over North Korea to justify his declaration of martial law.
Yoon faces life imprisonment or the death penalty
On December 3, 2024, Yoon temporarily declared martial law amid a budget dispute South Korea thus plunged into a deep political crisis. The parliament in Seoul then voted to remove the then president, which the South Korean Constitutional Court confirmed in April.
If found guilty, Yoon would be the third South Korean president to be convicted of sedition. In this case he faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Yoon calls on supporters to ‘rise up’
Yoon recently defended his actions last year as fighting against “pro-China, pro-North Korean and treasonous activities.” He described his successor Lee as a dictator. He called on his supporters to “rise up.”
The ex-president had previously resigned from his conservative party and thus avoided being expelled from the party. In the early presidential election in June the previous opposition leader Lee Jae Myung won.
