Impeached president faces first verdict on martial law-related charges

12·3 비상계엄 관련 내란 우두머리 혐의로 기소된 윤석열 전 대통령이 지난 13일 서울 서초구 서울중앙지방법원 417호 형사대법정에서 열린 내란 우두머리 혐의 결심공판에서 최후진술하고 있다. [사진=서울중앙지법]

SEOUL, January 16 (AJP) - Impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol will be sentenced on Friday for one of several charges related to his botched martial law debacle.

In a nationwide televised trial scheduled for 2 p.m., the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul is set to deliver its ruling on whether Yoon obstructed law enforcement by blocking investigators and other officials who attempted to detain him following his abrupt late-night declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.

It will be Yoon's first sentencing among his eight cases related to the debacle including the main charges of insurrection and abuse of power, whose verdict is likely to be handed down next month.

At the case's final hearing in December last year, prosecutors sought 10 years in prison for Yoon - five years for obstruction of official duties, three years for abuse of power, and two years for fabricating official documents, calling it "a serious crime in which the defendant privatized state institutions to conceal and justify his wrongdoing."

They said a heavy sentence is necessary "to restore constitutional order and the rule of law, and to prevent a recurrence."
Lee Keon-hee 기자 topkeontop12@ajunews.com

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