South Korean court hikes ex-president's sentence for obstructing justice

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SEOUL: A South Korean appeals court has increased the prison sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol to seven years for obstructing justice, raising it from the initial five-year term. The court condemned his actions as ‘highly reprehensible,’ particularly his illegal instructions to presidential security agents to act as private guards to block his arrest.

Beyond obstruction, the court upheld convictions for abuse of power related to his failed 2024 martial law declaration, including the exclusion of cabinet members from key meetings. Yoon is already serving a life sentence for insurrection and faces additional charges for allegedly provoking North Korea with drone incursions.

The legal crisis extends to his wife, Kim Keon Hee, whose sentence for bribery and stock manipulation was recently increased to four years. Both Yoon and his wife intend to appeal their respective verdicts to the Supreme Court.

Photo Credits: AFP