Courthouse rioter given 1-year prison term

Protestors storm the Seoul Western District Court in western Seoul on Jan. 19 after the court issued a warrant for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's formal arrest. Yonhap

A man in his 40s was sentenced to one year in prison Wednesday on charges of violence during a courthouse riot related to former President Yoon Suk Yeol in January.

The Seoul Western District Court handed down the sentence to the 41-year-old man, surnamed Cho, for trespassing at the same court building and breaking its windows during the riot on Jan. 19.

A total of 63 people have been indicted in connection with the riot, which was prompted by the court's decision to extend Yoon's detention over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.

The same court also sentenced a 37-year-old man, surnamed Park, to a one-year imprisonment, suspended for two years, on charges of assaulting a reporter of broadcaster MBC during the riot.

The prosecution earlier demanded two years in prison for both Cho and Park.