Appeal challenges acquittals on martial law document storage and false press release charges
The insurrection special counsel announced on the 22nd that they have appealed the first-instance ruling regarding former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s charges, including obstruction of arrest.
On this day, the special counsel stated, “We have filed an appeal regarding the not-guilty verdicts and sentencing in the case of former President Yoon.” This comes six days after the first-instance court sentenced the former president to five years in prison on the 16th.
Earlier, Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 35 (Presiding Judge Baek Dae-hyun) ruled guilty on four of the five charges against former President Yoon: infringement of the State Council member’s martial law deliberation rights (abuse of authority), post-creation and approval of destruction of the martial law proclamation document (creation and use of false official documents), directing false press releases to foreign media (abuse of authority), instructing deletion of encrypted phone records (abetting abuse of authority), and obstruction of the CIO’s arrest (obstruction of official duties).
However, the court acquitted Yoon on charges of storing the martial law proclamation document in an annex of the Office of the President and directing false press releases to foreign media. The court stated, “It cannot be concluded that others, unaware the document was falsified, had access to it.”
