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Appeals court set to hold final hearing of Yoon's obstruction of justice trial

Published: 06 Apr. 2026, 10:06

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers his final statement during a hearing on charges of leading an insurrection related to his brief martial law imposition at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Jan. 13. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]

An appeals court is set to hold the final hearing on Monday of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's trial on obstruction of justice and other charges stemming from his brief imposition of martial law.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at the Seoul High Court at 2 p.m. and will wrap up proceedings that began after both Yoon and special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team appealed a lower court's sentence of five years in prison.

Yoon was convicted in January of obstructing investigators from detaining him last year and calling only select Cabinet members to a meeting to review his martial law plan.

He was also found guilty of creating and then discarding a false proclamation after the martial law decree was lifted, but he was acquitted of charges that he ordered the distribution of false press statements.

During Monday's session, the bench is expected to complete an evidence examination and hear the sentencing recommendation and final opinions of the special counsel team, as well as the final arguments of Yoon's lawyers and Yoon's own final statement.

The court is expected to deliver its ruling before the end of June, given that sentencing hearings are typically held within two months of closing arguments.

Yoon has been standing a total of eight trials in connection with his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024, his wife's alleged corruption and the 2023 death of a Marine.

In the main case, a court sentenced him in February to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his declaration of martial law.

Yoon has been jailed since July 2025, pending the trials.

Yonhap