The Seoul Court of Appeal on Wednesday stiffened the sentence of former President Jun Sok-yol, who was given an additional seven years to his original life sentence for obstruction of justice. The ex-president illegally used the State Security Service as private security to avoid arrest after his failed attempt to declare martial law in December 2024, according to the court.
South Korea’s appeals court on Wednesday increased former President Jun Sok-yol’s prison sentence from five to seven years on obstruction of justice and other charges related to his attempt to declare martial law. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the agencies Jonhap and AFP.
- The Court of Appeal in Seoul increased the sentence of ex-president Jun Sok-jeol to seven years.
- Jun Sok-yol abused the presidential security service to avoid his arrest by the police.
- The prosecution asked for ten years in prison, considering the original sentence too mild.
- The court called Jun’s motives reprehensible and his instructions to the security service illegal.
- Jun Sok-yol is already serving a life sentence for rebellion during the declaration of martial law.
The court called Jun’s actions and motives reprehensible
A lower court in January ruled in the case over findings that Jun used the presidential security service to prevent his arrest. The appeal was filed by the ex-president and the prosecutor’s office. The former leader claimed that the arrest warrants were issued based on an “illegal investigation”. The special prosecutors, on the other hand, declared that the punishment was not sufficient considering the seriousness of the crimes and requested ten years.
The Seoul Court of Appeal adopted a harsher sentence on Tuesday. “The court sentences the defendant to seven years in prison,” the judge announced, calling Jun’s actions and motives “reprehensible.”
Life imprisonment for sedition
“The defendant not only tried to prevent the lawful execution of the orders of prosecutors and other persons… but also gave illegal instructions to public officials of the presidential security service, who belong to the civil service, in the interest of his own protection and in an attempt to use them as private security,” the court clarified.
The former president is currently serving a life sentence for sedition in the event of martial law being declared on December 3, 2024, with the prosecution seeking the death penalty. Shortly after its declaration, the parliament abolished martial law and suspended the president’s performance of his duties, which was finally confirmed by the Constitutional Court. The ex-president appealed against the sentence.
