SOUTH KOREA'S TOP COURT UPHOLDS SEVEN-YEAR SENTENCE FOR EX-PRESIDENT YOON

South Korea's Supreme Court upheld a seven-year prison sentence against former president Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday. The sentence relates to charges of obstruction and crimes connected to his 2024 martial law declaration. The court dismissed all appeals from both prosecutors and Yoon's legal team, with the ruling described as final.

Yoon faced accusations of obstructing cabinet deliberations by convening only select ministers before declaring martial law. Additional charges included creating and destroying a false martial law decree with forged signatures from the prime minister, ordering officials to distribute a misleading press release to foreign media, and directing an army commander to delete records from military phones. A lower court sentenced Yoon to five years in prison in January; an appeals court raised this to seven years in April after adding a guilty verdict on the misleading press release charge. Prosecutors had sought a ten-year sentence.

Yoon remains in detention whilst appealing a separate life sentence for leading an insurrection through his martial law declaration. He has maintained that his declaration was motivated by the public interest. His legal team expressed "deep regret" at the Supreme Court's decision, stating the court had concluded the case "without sufficient deliberation".