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Former President Yoon Suk-yeol has been acquitted of perjury charges in the insurrection trial of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 32 ruled on the 28th, rejecting the two-year prison sentence sought by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok.
The court concluded that it is highly likely that former President Yoon had plans to convene the cabinet regardless of Han's suggestion. Therefore, it reached the conclusion that his courtroom testimony could not be seen as contradicting his memory.
Former President Yoon appeared as a witness in the trial regarding Han's insurrection charges last November and was accused of falsely testifying that he had planned the cabinet meeting before Han's suggestion on the day of the emergency martial law declaration. He protested against the special prosecutor team's questions, asserting that the cabinet members did not gather merely for appearances.
The special prosecutor team deemed Yoon's testimony as false, indicating that he intended to hold the cabinet meeting from the outset, and referred the case to trial in December of last year. However, the court did not accept this claim.
Separately from this case, former President Yoon is undergoing an appeals trial related to charges of being the mastermind behind the emergency martial law declaration, having received a life sentence in the first trial. Additionally, he has been indicted for mobilizing presidential security staff to obstruct the execution of an arrest warrant by the Corruption Investigation Office, receiving a seven-year prison sentence in the second trial.
He has also been charged with directing a drone operation command to create a justification for the emergency martial law, with the first trial's verdict for this case scheduled for the 21st of next month. Due to these various charges, former President Yoon is facing significant legal challenges.