Appeals court raises Yoon’s term to 7 years over obstruction of duty charges

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, attends a hearing at the Seoul High Court in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul High Court

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to seven years in prison on Wednesday after an appellate court found him guilty of abusing his presidential authority, obstructing official duties and fabricating documents over his handling of the 2024 martial law declaration and the subsequent investigation into his actions.

The Seoul High Court increased his prison term to seven years, up from the five years handed down in the first trial. This case focused on the allegations that Yoon blocked his own arrest, overstepped his authority and tampered with documents. It is separate from the insurrection case that led to a life sentence on Feb. 19.

“As sitting president at the time of the crimes, Yoon bore a heavy responsibility to uphold the Constitution and to protect and advance the people’s freedoms and rights, but instead he betrayed that duty and deepened social unrest through this case,” Judge Yoon Seong-sik said.

The appeals court found that he infringed on the deliberation rights of nine Cabinet members who were left out of the Cabinet meeting that preceded the martial law decree, saying that he summoned only certain ministers in order to push it through. Lower court judges had previously found that he did not abuse his authority in relation to two ministers who were notified but chose not to attend. But the appeals court ruled that all nine absent ministers were victims of his abuse of power.

On the document charges, the judges confirmed findings that Yoon ordered the creation of a backdated martial law proclamation to conceal procedural flaws in the way the decree was approved. They ruled that the written proclamation was drafted after the declaration and made to appear as if it had been properly endorsed by the prime minister and defense minister, then later destroyed in violation of laws governing public and presidential records.

As in the first trial, the guilty verdict was upheld on his order to delete secure-phone call logs for Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command, and others.

People watch a live broadcast of the appeals court’s sentencing hearing for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on a screen at Seoul Station in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

The court also addressed Yoon’s attempts to shape the narrative abroad, saying he abused his authority by instructing his then-presidential secretary for foreign media to provide false information that lawmakers were not barred from entering the National Assembly during martial law. In the lower court’s previous ruling, he was found not guilty of this charge.

“He not only concealed the wrongdoing committed in the process of declaring emergency martial law, but also conveyed incorrect information about the legality of the declaration to foreign media, which had a negative impact on Korea’s international credibility and on the public’s right to know,” the presiding judge said.

On the obstruction charge, the judges confirmed that Yoon abused the Presidential Security Service to block investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials as they tried to execute lawful arrest warrants issued on Dec. 30, 2024, and Jan. 7, 2025, after his impeachment.

“Even if Yoon did not issue specific orders, it is proper to view him as having instigated the crime,” the judge said, adding that Yoon tried to use the elite agents as if they were his own private guards.

Yoon kept his lips sealed and his face stiff throughout the hearing, showing no noticeable reaction even as the court imposed a heavier sentence than in the first trial. The ruling was broadcast live.

Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Yoon’s lawyers called the outcome unacceptable and said they would take the case to the Supreme Court.

Wednesday's ruling marks the first appeals court decision in any of the trials stemming from Yoon's martial law crisis. Hearings began for the higher-profile insurrection case on April 27, with weekly Thursday sessions scheduled through July, totaling more than 10 hearing dates.