Court to deliver ruling Jan. 16 on Yoon's charges regarding obstructing arrest, deleting records
Published: 16 Dec. 2025, 10:56
Updated: 16 Dec. 2025, 19:35
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- YOON SO-YEON
- [email protected]
![Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his trial on charges related to his December 2024 bid to impose martial law at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital, in this file photo from Sept. 26. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/16/a2b1edd7-59f1-4ee2-9298-a25441a7ff5b.jpg)
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends his trial on charges related to his December 2024 bid to impose martial law at the Seoul Central District Court in the capital, in this file photo from Sept. 26. [YONHAP]
The Seoul Central District Court will likely make a ruling on former President Yoon Suk Yeol's charges related to obstructing the operations of his arrest and deleting records from a secure phone on Jan. 16, the judge said Tuesday.
The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 35, presided over by Judge Baek Dae-hyun, held a hearing on Tuesday in the trial of Yoon, who has been indicted for obstructing the execution of special official duties and abuse of power, among other charges.
“Under the special probe law, a first-instance verdict must be delivered within six months of the indictment,” said the court. “Since the special prosecutor filed the indictment on July 19, the ruling must come by Jan. 19, 2026, so we will likely deliver the verdict on Jan. 16.”
“If the defense wishes to call any witnesses, we will decide on those on Dec. 19, after which we will proceed to the closing arguments,” the judge added. “If we are unable to close proceedings on Dec. 19, we will schedule an additional hearing and conclude on Dec. 26.”
A separate trial on charges of leading an insurrection is currently being handled by the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 25, which is overseeing cases involving major insurrection defendants.
BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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