Yoon Suk-yeol, President of South Korea, is shown with his legal representatives, lawyers Yoo Jeong-hwa (from left), Song Jin-ho, and Choi Ji-woo, holding a press conference following the first-instance ruling in his obstruction of arrest case, where he received a five-year prison sentence. [Photo = Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who received a five-year prison sentence in the first instance of the 'obstruction of arrest' case, filed an appeal on the 19th.

The legal team representing President Yoon held a press conference at the Life Business Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the same day, stating that "the first-instance judgment has procedural and substantive issues," and announced that they had submitted an appeal to the court.

Regarding the first-instance court's ruling that "the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has the authority to investigate charges of rebellion through the crime of abuse of power," the legal team countered, "The CIO has not submitted any evidence indicating it recognized charges of rebellion during the investigation of abuse of power, and abuse of power and rebellion are separate matters with no direct relation."

Furthermore, concerning the court's statement that "investigation is possible" regarding Article 84 of the Constitution, which states, "The President shall not be criminally prosecuted for offenses committed during his tenure, except in cases of rebellion or treason," they firmly stated, "Prosecution includes coercive investigations. This is an interpretation that directly contradicts the Constitution."

In addition, they argued, "The records from the encrypted phone are military secrets and presidential records," and "The Presidential Security Service cannot voluntarily submit them to investigative agencies. The judgment that submission is possible due to the absence of restrictive regulations is a distortion of legal principles." They further contended, "The court presented precedents that do not exist for the first time, such as the possibility of search and seizure of military facilities."

On the 16th, the Criminal Division 35 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Baek Dae-hyun) sentenced President Yoon to five years in prison on charges including obstruction of official duties and abuse of power.

The court found President Yoon guilty of charges including △ obstruction of CIO arrest △ infringement of cabinet members' deliberative rights △ post-hoc drafting and disposal of martial law proclamation △ deletion of encrypted phone records, and not guilty of charges related to false public announcements concerning foreign media.

Editorial Department, Hanmi Daily