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Disabled care facility director arrested over alleged sexual violence

A Seoul court on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for a disabled care facility director accused of committing sexual violence against multiple facility residents. The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant, citing the risk of the man, surnamed Kim, destroying evidence and fleeing. Kim appeared at the court for his arrest warrant hearing earlier in the day after police requested the warrant on charges of raping and molesting the victims at the Saekdongwon group home for people with severe disabilities located in Ganghwa County, Incheon. Police suspect Kim abused at least six residents at the facility, but he has denied the allegations. Kim reportedly continued to deny the allegations during Thursday's hearing but eventually acknowledged part of them after police submitted to the court medical records of the victims and surveillance footage showing Kim assaulting a resident. Police began looking into the case in May last year and formed a special investigation team late last month. A victim first raised allegations over sexual violence occurring at the facility in February last ye

Feb 19, 2026By Yonhap
Disabled care facility director arrested over alleged sexual violence

Just how many trials does ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol face?

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol faces verdicts or proceedings in eight criminal trials this year, underscoring the unprecedented legal fallout from his 2024 martial law declaration and related scandals. With Thursday’s ruling on insurrection charges opening a politically charged judicial calendar, Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee are awaiting first-instance judgment in multiple cases through the first half of 2026, with charges ranging from treason and abuse of power to political funding violation and bribery. Yoon’s most serious case centers on an accusation that he led an insurrection by declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, despite no war or comparable national emergency, in collusion with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and senior military and police officials. The court sentenced Yoon to life in prison after finding him guilty of insurrection linked to the martial law declaration, following legal precedents from separate trials of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min. Several other cases are set to run in parallel in the coming months

Feb 19, 2026By Lee Hae-rin
Just how many trials does ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol face?

Assembly Speaker Woo urges ex-President Yoon to apologize for martial law bid

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik on Thursday urged former President Yoon Suk Yeol to apologize to the public after the ousted president was sentenced to life imprisonment for his failed bid to impose martial law in 2024. In the first verdict on Yoon's insurrection charges, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Yoon of leading an insurrection through the martial law bid and handed down a sentence lighter than the death penalty recommended by special prosecutors. "I hope ex-President Yoon repents his wrongdoing and offers a sincere apology to the people," Woo told reporters after the court made the announcement. Woo stressed that the court's ruling has legally confirmed that the Dec. 3 martial law bid constituted an act of insurrection. Woo, however, expressed regret that the court took the failed insurrection into account as a mitigating factor, saying Yoon's attempt to impose martial law failed "not because of insufficient preparation but because the National Assembly and people resisted."

Feb 19, 2026By Yonhap
Assembly Speaker Woo urges ex-President Yoon to apologize for martial law bid

Court to decide whether to issue arrest warrant for disabled care facility director accused of sexual violence

A Seoul court is set to decide as early as Thursday whether to issue an arrest warrant for a disabled care facility director accused of committing sexual violence against multiple facility residents. The man, surnamed Kim, appeared at the Seoul Central District Court after police requested the warrant on charges of raping and molesting the victims at the Saekdongwon group home for people with severe disabilities located in Ganghwa County, Incheon, just west of Seoul. Police believe Kim abused at least six residents at the facility, while he has denied the allegations. Police began looking into the case in May last year and formed a special investigation team late last month.

Feb 19, 2026By Yonhap
Court to decide whether to issue arrest warrant for disabled care facility director accused of sexual violence

Ex-President Yoon set to receive 1st verdict on martial law bid

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to receive the first verdict Thursday on whether his 2024 imposition of martial law constituted an insurrection following special prosecutors' recommendation of the death penalty. The sentencing hearing is scheduled to be held at the Seoul Central District Court at 3 p.m. with the jailed former president in attendance and the proceedings broadcast live on national television. Yoon was indicted in January last year on charges of leading an insurrection through his brief imposition of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, which lasted six hours. He is accused of mobilizing troops and the police to seal off the National Assembly compound with the aim of preventing lawmakers from voting down his decree, and ordering the arrest of the National Assembly speaker and the then leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties, among other things. According to his indictment, Yoon conspired with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to stage a riot aimed at subverting the Constitution and illegally declared martial law in the absence of war or an equivalent

Feb 19, 2026By Yonhap
Ex-President Yoon set to receive 1st verdict on martial law bid

Court to deliver verdict Thursday in Yoon’s insurrection trial

A court is scheduled to deliver its verdict at 3 p.m. Thursday in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection trial stemming from his declaration of martial law, a case in which prosecutors have sought the death penalty. The ruling comes 443 days after Yoon abruptly declared emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, a move that lasted about six hours before the National Assembly voted to overturn it. Yoon was indicted in January 2025 on charges of leading an insurrection and was removed from office in April that year. The ousted president faces four separate criminal trials related to the martial law fiasco, but this case — centered on the insurrection charge — is widely seen as the one most directly linked to the declaration itself. At the final hearing on Jan. 13, the special counsel urged the court to impose the harshest sentence available — death. Prosecutors argued that the martial law imposition was a long-planned attempt to dismantle the constitutional order through the mobilization of military and police forces. Armed troops were deployed to the Assembly in an attempt to d

Feb 18, 2026By Lee Hyo-jin
Court to deliver verdict Thursday in Yoon’s insurrection trial

Ex-interior minister appeals 7-yr prison term for martial law involvement

Former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min has appealed a court ruling sentencing him to seven years in prison for playing a key role in an insurrection in connection with former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched bid to impose martial law, according to legal sources Saturday. Lee's lawyers filed the appeal the previous day, two days after the Seoul Central District Court found him guilty of involvement in Yoon's failed attempt, Dec. 3, 2024, and perjuring himself during the former president's impeachment trial last year. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team had demanded a 15-year prison term for Lee, accusing him of giving instructions to cut off power and water to media outlets critical of the then administration on the night of Yoon's martial law declaration. Lee is the second member of the former president's Cabinet to be convicted over the emergency order after former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo received a 23-year prison sentence last month for his role in the short-lived attempt.

Feb 14, 2026By Yonhap
Ex-interior minister appeals 7-yr prison term for martial law involvement

Close associate of ex-first lady sentenced to 1 1/2 years in lobbying case

A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a close associate of former first lady Kim Keon Hee to 1 1/2 years in prison for offering to help a suspect in a stock price manipulation scheme in exchange for money. The Seoul Central District Court handed down the sentence for Lee Jong-ho, a former head of investment firm Blackpearl Invest, finding him guilty of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act. Special counsel Min Joong-ki indicted Lee in August on charges of receiving over 80 million won ($55,400) from June 2022 to February 2023 in return for his promise to help the suspect get a lighter court sentence over the scheme involving Deutsch Motors, a BMW dealer in South Korea. The court said some of the funds could not be clearly recognized as being intended for lobbying purposes, ordering Lee to forfeit 79.1 million won. Lee is known for his close ties with the former first lady, once having managed her accounts. The special counsel team had charged Kim over her alleged involvement in the scheme, but a Seoul court last month found her not guilty of partaking in it as an accomplice.

Feb 13, 2026By Yonhap
Close associate of ex-first lady sentenced to 1 1/2 years in lobbying case

Appellate court acquits ex-DPK leader of all charges in 'cash envelope' case

An appeals court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling to acquit Song Young-gil, a former leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), of all charges in a case over alleged exchanges of cash envelopes in the run-up to a party convention in 2021. The Seoul High Court found Song not guilty of bribery and violating laws on political parties and political funds, striking down an earlier ruling that sentenced him to two years in prison for receiving illegal political funds. Unlike the lower ruling, the appellate court determined that the prosecution presented illegally collected evidence over Song's alleged acceptance of 863 million won ($600,000) in illegal political funds via the Research Institute for Peace and Livelihood. The court also ruled the group could not be seen as a "political person" under the Political Funds Act, reversing the previous ruling. Prosecutors accused Song of involvement in handing out cash envelopes containing 66.5 million won in total between March and April 2021 to lawmakers and other officials allegedly in exchange for their help in his bid to becom

Feb 13, 2026By Yonhap
Appellate court acquits ex-DPK leader of all charges in 'cash envelope' case

Defense ministry relieves Navy chief from duty over alleged martial law involvement

The defense ministry said Friday it has relieved Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kang Dong-gil from duty over his alleged involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law bid in late 2024. The move came a day after the ministry took a similar action against Ground Operations Commander Gen. Joo Sung-un over suspicions of martial law involvement, marking the second such suspension of a four-star general appointed under President Lee Jae Myung's administration. "The defense ministry excluded the chief of naval operations as of Friday as allegations in relation to the insurrection case have been identified," ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said in a briefing. Kang, who served as chief of the directorate of military support at the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time of the martial law imposition, was among the seven top-brass officers appointed as four-star generals in September last year. The allegations involving Kang and Joo were not previously verified ahead of their appointment, a ministry official said, acknowledging limitations in the procedure amid efforts to fill th

Feb 13, 2026By Yonhap
Defense ministry relieves Navy chief from duty over alleged martial law involvement
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