'Yoon Faces First Sentencing Request Today'—Charges Include Obstruction of Arrest, Key Indicator for Future Trials

[Financial News] The Special Prosecutor Team for Insurrection and Treason, led by Cho Eun-seok, will request sentencing for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on the 26th. The charges include obstruction of arrest and infringement of Cabinet members' rights to deliberate and vote on martial law.
As this is the first of Yoon's four trials to conclude oral arguments, it is seen as a bellwether for the outcomes of his other cases.
According to the legal community, the Criminal Division 35 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Baek Dae-hyun, Chief Judge of the Criminal Division, Seoul Central District Court, will hold the final hearing for Yoon's case on charges including obstruction of official duties at 10:15 a.m. today.
In the morning, the court will conduct witness examinations of former Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok.
After the witness testimonies, the Special Prosecutor Team will present its final opinion and sentencing request, followed by the defense's closing arguments and Yoon's final statement. The court will then set the date for the first-instance verdict.
Previously, at a continued hearing on the 16th, the court stated, "Under the Special Prosecutor Act for Insurrection, the first-instance verdict must be delivered within six months of indictment," adding, "It appears the verdict will be rendered on January 16 next year."
If proceedings go as scheduled, the first verdict among the four cases related to the December 3 martial law will be delivered two days before Yoon's detention expires (January 18).
The trial for insurrection charges, presided over by Jee Kui-yeon of the Criminal Division 25 at the Seoul Central District Court, is expected to conclude oral arguments as early as the beginning of next month, with a verdict anticipated around February.
The Special Prosecutor Team alleges that Yoon, during the declaration of martial law, convened only Cabinet members favorable to him to create the appearance of a legitimate Cabinet meeting, thereby infringing upon the constitutional rights of nine Cabinet members to deliberate and vote on martial law. He was indicted and detained in July.
Yoon is also accused of fabricating a false proclamation to make it appear that martial law was enacted based on a document signed by former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun after the martial law was lifted, and of destroying this document, which is both a presidential record and an official government document.
He is further charged with ordering the deletion of secure phone communication records of former Commander of the Defense Counterintelligence Command Yeo In-hyung and others, and instructing the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to block the execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in January this year. These allegations are included in the indictment.


scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter