A court increased the ex-president’s sentence from five to seven years on charges related to his botched martial law bid
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 3:18pm, 29 Apr 2026Updated: 3:22pm, 29 Apr 2026A South Korean appeal court increased the sentence of jailed former president Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday to seven years for obstructing justice, up from five years.
“The court sentences the defendant to seven years in prison,” a judge at the Seoul High Court said, calling Yoon’s actions “highly reprehensible”.
The court delivered the ruling in a televised hearing, the first decision by a special court division set up to handle cases linked to Yoon’s martial law bid in December 2024.
The 2024 decree unleashed a wave of political unrest, triggering mass street protests and ultimately his impeachment.
The case stems from Yoon’s stand-off in January last year with agents from the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) who were attempting to arrest him. He had barricaded himself inside his fortified presidential compound, protected by armed security personnel.
Witnesses later testified that Yoon ordered his guards to carry their firearms openly to “scare away” CIO agents, while his wife, Kim Keon-hee, reportedly scolded the officers for being too passive.
