Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to five years in prison after a court found him guilty of offences linked to his declaration of martial law in December 2024.
A court in South Korea on Friday ruled that Yoon obstructed authorities from executing an arrest warrant connected to the martial law declaration, Al Jazeera reports.
He was also found guilty of fabricating official documents and failing to comply with the legal process required to impose martial law, according to a live broadcast of the ruling.
The judgement represents the first ruling arising from a range of criminal charges Yoon faces over the short-lived imposition of martial law in 2024.
Reporting from Seoul, Al Jazeera’s Jack Barton said Yoon’s supporters gathered outside the court on Friday, chanting to express their unhappiness with the verdict after he was found guilty on all charges.
“It’s not a good sign,” Barton said, noting that the former president still faces a more serious charge.
“These charges are not really related to the main event. That is the insurrection trial that is still ongoing,” he said.
“So, guilty on all of those charges and, again, this feeds into that main trial [for insurrection]. We are expecting that verdict in February,” he added.
Yoon was previously impeached, arrested and dismissed as president after his brief declaration of martial law in 2024 triggered large public protests calling for his removal.