Seoul court to rule on perjury charge against former President Yoon Suk Yeol

A Seoul court is scheduled to rule Thursday on whether former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol committed perjury in a case tied to his short-lived Dec. 3, 2024, declaration of emergency martial law, adding another legal decision to the former leader’s growing list of criminal proceedings.

The Seoul Central District Court was set to deliver its verdict at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 28, according to Yonhap News Agency. The perjury case is separate from the main insurrection prosecution over the martial-law episode, though it stems from the same broader crisis.

Prosecutors allege Yoon gave false testimony during the trial of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The dispute centers on Yoon’s statements about a Cabinet meeting held before he declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024 — specifically, whether that meeting had already been planned before Han suggested convening it.

The special counsel team led by Cho Eun-suk asked the court on April 16 to sentence Yoon to two years in prison in the perjury case, Yonhap reported. The special counsel indicted Yoon on the charge on Dec. 4, 2025.

Assistant special counsel Park Ji-young said at the time, “We filed charges of perjury over the testimony given by former President Yoon during former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s trial.”

The allegation is narrower than the insurrection case that has dominated the legal fallout from Yoon’s martial-law bid. Thursday’s ruling concerns what Yoon said as a witness in court, not directly whether he led the martial-law effort itself.

Still, the case sits within the sweeping political and legal crisis unleashed by Yoon’s Dec. 3, 2024, declaration, which led to prosecutions of senior officials. Yonhap has reported that Yoon is facing multiple criminal trials, including cases linked to the martial-law episode.

According to Yonhap, prosecutors argued in seeking a prison term that Yoon’s account of the Cabinet meeting was not credible. A special counsel member said on April 16: “The defendant claims that he held the Cabinet meeting in order to declare martial law but he did not prepare the relevant documents in advance.”

Yoon, for his part, defended the substance of the meeting during Han’s trial, saying, “Cabinet members are not dolls who come to create an outward appearance.”

Yoon has been held in custody since July 2025, Yonhap has reported. In a separate case, a first-instance court sentenced him to life imprisonment on Feb. 19, 2026, after finding him guilty in the main insurrection prosecution tied to the martial-law declaration.

Thursday’s decision will address only the perjury charge.