South Korea's ex-defense minister sentenced to 3-yr prison term for obstruction of justice

South Korea's former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun has been sentenced to three years in prison for deceiving the Presidential Security Service into issuing a secure phone in connection to former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law, local media reported on Tuesday.

The Seoul Central District Court announced the verdict after finding Kim guilty of obstruction of official duties by deception for obtaining a secure phone on Dec. 2, 2024, one day before the martial law declaration, according to Yonhap News.

The phone was transferred to Noh Sang-won, a former military intelligence commander and civilian official involved in the investigation team examining alleged election fraud.

The court said the phone was later used in activities linked to the martial law enforcement structure set up under Yoon’s decree.

Kim was also convicted of instigating the destruction of evidence after ordering an aide to dispose of documents related to the martial law period following the lifting of the decree by the National Assembly on Dec. 5, 2024.

Prosecutors had sought a five-year prison term, but the court cited Kim’s lack of a prior criminal record as a mitigating factor in handing down the lower sentence.

Kim's case was the first indictment by the team after it was launched last June to investigate allegations surrounding Yoon's martial law bid.

Kim is also facing a separate appellate trial in another case in which he was previously sentenced to 30 years in prison over allegations linked to an insurrection involving the martial law attempt.