2 pro-Yoon rioters jailed for vandalizing court

A man looks at the damaged wall of the Seoul Western District Court in Seoul, Jan. 19. The court on Wednesday handed down prison terms for two men for their involvement in the riot that was triggered due to a judge's decision to issue an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Newsis

Two men have been imprisoned for vandalizing court facilities in protest against the decision to issue an arrest warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier this year.

Judge Kim Jin-sung at the Seoul Western District Court, where the Jan. 19 attack took place, on Wednesday sentenced a 35-year-old man, surnamed Kim, to 18 months in prison, and another man, surnamed So, to one year, on charges of trespassing and damaging public property.

Kim and So were among dozens of protesters who stormed the building that day, smashing windows and damaging cars parked in the compound, all while searching for the judge, Cha Eun-kyung, who had made the decision.

The violence followed the approval of Yoon's formal arrest, after he was impeached by the National Assembly and was being investigated on charges of insurrection related to his declaration of martial law the previous month.

Investigators later found that Kim had damaged one of the court building’s walls using bricks and had trespassed despite warnings and attempts by police to stop him. So was also found to have used pieces of broken tile and other tools to vandalize the facility.

They were the first rulings issued by the judiciary against the 96 individuals currently standing trial for their involvement in the attack.

“This was a multi-pronged crime targeting the court. The defendants and many others were involved in it, and the consequence was devastating,” the presiding judge said. “It was the result of a determination to retaliate against the judiciary, based on the assumption that the decision to issue the warrant was political conspiracy.”

At earlier hearings, the two admitted to all of the charges brought against them and expressed regret for their actions on that day.

The judge showed some sympathy to the men, saying, “I had written and rewritten the ruling in my head countless times.”

However, he suggested that a strong penalty was unavoidable, given the severity of their crimes.

In the coming months, judges are expected to issue rulings for other attackers, including those indicted on more serious charges such as obstruction of justice for assaulting police officers and attempted arson targeting an occupied building.

Article 164 of the Criminal Act states that anyone who sets fire to a building occupied by people could face a life sentence.

The attack was an unprecedented act of violence against a court and the rule of law, prompting Supreme Court justices to issue a joint statement condemning "the severe act of crime that threatens the very foundations of constitutional order."