On the afternoon of the 16th, at 3 PM, the Criminal Division 35 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Baek Dae-hyun) sentenced President Yoon Suk-yeol to five years in prison in the first instance ruling for charges including obstruction of official duties and abuse of power.

The court determined that the process of President Yoon's declaration of martial law and his subsequent actions were unlawful. The court stated, "By declaring martial law without notifying the convening of the State Council, President Yoon infringed upon the deliberative rights of seven State Council members who did not receive notification."

Regarding the martial law declaration document personally signed by President Yoon, the court recognized the charge of forging official documents, stating, "It corresponds to a false official document with factual inaccuracies regarding the necessity and circumstances of the martial law." The judgment was that the document contained content justifying the declaration despite the substantive requirements and procedures for martial law not being met.

President Yoon's order to delete records from a hidden phone was deemed instigation to violate the Presidential Security Act. The court viewed the order as "an illegal act that hindered the preservation of crime-related data and increased the possibility of evidence tampering."

The obstruction of arrest that occurred during the execution of an arrest warrant on January 3rd was also found to be guilty. The court determined that President Yoon's act of preventing the arrest by using his presidential authority constituted abuse of power and obstruction of official duties.

In explaining the sentencing, the court pointed out, "President Yoon effectively mobilized public officials like his private soldiers for personal gain," and "The nature of the crime is very poor, as he privatized public authority." It added, "His responsibility is heavy in that he did not self-limit his authority granted by the Constitution and laws but rather abused it."

This verdict, which recognizes criminal responsibility not only for the procedural illegality of the martial law declaration but also for the subsequent orders and actions, is expected to lead to intense legal arguments in the appellate trials.