Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a court proceeding held at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul on Sept. 26, 2025.NEWS1
The top court on Thursday upheld a seven-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of obstructing his arrest.
Thursday’s verdict marked the first Supreme Court judgment involving Yoon since his botched attempt to impose martial law on the night of Dec. 3, 2024. It came 583 days after the declaration.
The court affirmed the lower court's sentence of seven years in prison on charges including obstruction of a public official's execution of duties and abuse of authority to interfere with their rights.
"The lower court made no error in its judgment, such as violating the principles of logic or experience, exceeding the limits of the free evaluation of evidence or misapplying the law," the Supreme Court said.
In July of last year, Yoon was indicted and detained by a special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk on charges including the obstruction of official duties.
Yoon was accused of mobilizing presidential security guards and thereby obstructing the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials' (CIO) attempt to take him into custody under a valid arrest warrant in January of last year while he was still in office.
Yoon also faced charges of abuse of power for calling in only a handful of Cabinet members before declaring martial law. The judiciary ruled that he violated the rights of nine ministers to deliberate on the agenda.
Investigators contended that Yoon ordered the creation of a false document to make it appear as if the martial law declaration had been properly approved with the signatures of then-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. He was also charged with violating the Act on the Management of Presidential Archives for destroying it afterward.
A motorcade carrying then-President Yoon Suk Yeol is spotted in the presidential residence in central Seoul on Jan. 15, 2025.JUN MIN-KYU
Yoon faced additional charges of directing officials to distribute a press statement containing false claims for foreign media, stating that he had no intention of violating the constitutional order.
In January of this year, the Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of some charges, including obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant and abuse of authority, and sentenced him to five years in prison.
In April, an appellate court increased the sentence to seven years, finding Yoon guilty of obstructing the CIO's execution of an arrest warrant and violating Cabinet members' right to deliberate the martial law declaration. It also overturned the lower court's acquittal on the charge that Yoon ordered the distribution of false press guidance to foreign media.
The ruling dismissed appeals by both Yoon and the prosecution, which is allowed to appeal under Korean law.
Thursday's ruling was broadcast live. Yoon did not attend the proceedings as defendants are not required to appear at Supreme Court proceedings.
Updated, July 9, 2026: Added more information about the charges against Yoon Suk Yeol and court decisions.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
