South Korea upholds 7-year prison term for Yoon Suk Yeol
The ruling is the first final decision in one of Yoon's eight cases, while appeals over a life sentence are still pending.
South Korea's Supreme Court upheld a seven-year prison term for former president Yoon Suk Yeol in a case tied to the December 2024 declaration of martial law. The ruling on Thursday, July 9, rejected all appeals from prosecutors and Yoon's side and said the lower courts did not err in weighing the evidence or applying the law.
The case includes allegations that Yoon obstructed his own arrest in January 2025 by ordering presidential guards to block investigators. He was also found guilty of holding a closed-door meeting before martial law, falsifying or destroying related documents, spreading misleading press releases, and ordering the deletion of records from a secure military phone. Yoon has been detained since July 2025. He still faces at least seven other cases, including an appeal over a life sentence in a rebellion case.