Former South Korean president faces new court battle

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to face a new stage in his legal battle as an appellate trial on obstruction of justice and related charges is scheduled to begin next week, according to legal sources, cited by Korean media.

The first hearing will take place at 2 p.m. next Wednesday, March 4, at the Seoul High Court. The proceedings will be handled by Criminal Division 1, one of two judicial panels recently assigned to oversee cases involving allegations of insurrection, treason and rebellion.

Last month, a lower court sentenced Yoon to five years in prison after finding him guilty of obstructing investigators who attempted to detain him following his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024. The court also ruled that he violated the rights of Cabinet members who were excluded from a meeting convened to review the martial law plan. In addition, he was convicted of drafting a revised proclamation related to the decree and later destroying the document after martial law was lifted.

The former president currently faces a total of eight separate trials linked to the martial law episode, allegations of corruption involving his wife, and an investigation connected to the 2023 death of a Marine.

In a separate case tied to the same political crisis, Yoon was sentenced last week to life imprisonment after being found guilty of leading an insurrection through his declaration of martial law.

By Tamilla Hasanova