The first trial verdict for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was indicted on charges including obstructing an arrest, will be handed down on Jan. 16 next year. It will be the first ruling among the trials related to the Dec. 3 martial law case against the former president. The special counsel investigating the insurrection case sought a total of 10 years in prison for the former president.
The special counsel investigating the insurrection case (Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk) asked the court to sentence the former president to 10 years in prison at the sentencing hearing for charges including obstruction of special official duties and abuse of power to interfere with the exercise of rights, held before the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 35 (Chief Judge Baek Dae-hyun).
The special counsel team asked for a five-year prison sentence for the former president on charges related to obstructing the arrest. For charges of infringing on Cabinet members' deliberation and voting rights and spreading false information to foreign media reporters, and for destruction of evidence related to secure phones, they sought three years. For the part concerning the drafting of the post hoc martial law proclamation, they sought two years in prison.
Special Counsel Park Eok-su said in the sentencing opinion, "This case is a serious crime in which the defendant privatized state institutions to conceal and justify the offense," adding, "Nevertheless, (the former president) even claimed with a dismissive attitude toward the offense that 'jailing a president is childish.'"
Regarding the charge of obstructing the CIO's arrest, the special counsel team said, "Please consider that it is unprecedented to turn officials of the Presidential Security Service into 'private soldiers' to systematically block the execution of a warrant." They then sought a five-year prison term, heavier than the sentencing guidelines (aggravated range: one to four years in prison).
The court said it will deliver the first-trial verdict on Jan. 16 next year. The trial proceeded quickly under a clause in the special counsel law that says a first-trial verdict must be delivered within six months after indictment. If the ruling comes on Jan. 16, it will be the first verdict among seven trials in which the former president has been indicted, including four related to the Dec. 3 martial law case.
In the trial on the former president's charge of being the ringleader of an insurrection, which is being heard by the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 25 (Chief Judge Jee Kui-youn), arguments will conclude on Jan. 9 next year, and the first-trial verdict is expected in early February.