Prosecutors seek 10 years in prison for ex-South Korean president over martial law attempt

• Defense Ministry dismisses brigadier general for involvement in martial law bid and demotes another

ANKARA

South Korean prosecutors on Friday sought a 10-year prison sentence for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over obstruction of justice and other charges related to his attempt in 2024 to impose martial law, local media reported.

Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested the sentence during the final hearing of Yoon's trial at the Seoul Central District Court, according to Yonhap News.

The trial focuses on allegations that the former president obstructed justice by preventing investigators from detaining him in January, violated the rights of nine Cabinet members excluded from a meeting on his martial law plan, and drafted and destroyed a revised proclamation after the decree was lifted.

Yoon is also facing three other trials linked to his failed martial law bid, including charges of leading an insurrection.

The obstruction of justice case is expected to conclude first, with a verdict likely on Jan. 16, while the insurrection trial could run into February.

Yoon was arrested and indicted for leading an insurrection in January, becoming the first sitting president to be taken into custody. After being released in March, Yoon was rearrested in July and remains detained.

The former president was formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April.

Separately, South Korea's Defense Ministry on Friday dismissed a brigadier general for involvement in the martial law bid and demoted another, the media outlet reported.

Last week, a committee headed by the defense minister decided to take disciplinary action against seven general-level officers involved in Yoon's brief martial law, which was announced on Dec. 3, 2024.

Two of them received "grave" disciplinary action, the ministry said on Friday.