Key facts
- Four PPP lawmakers have been indicted for obstructing investigators.
- The lawmakers allegedly formed a human wall to block the detention of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
- The incident took place on January 15, 2025, outside the presidential residence.
- The detention attempt was related to Yoon's failed martial law bid in December 2024.
- Former President Yoon Suk Yeol has been sentenced to seven years in prison for obstruction of justice.
Four lawmakers from South Korea's main opposition People Power Party (PPP) have been indicted by a special counsel team for allegedly obstructing investigators from detaining former President Yoon Suk Yeol. The lawmakers, identified as Reps. Na Kyung-won, Kim Gi-hyeon, Kwon Young-jin, and Yoon Sang-hyun, face charges of special obstruction of official duties.
The indictment stems from an incident on January 15, 2025, when investigators made a second attempt to detain Yoon. The PPP lawmakers allegedly formed a human wall with Yoon's supporters outside the presidential residence to block the investigators' entry. Special counsel Kwon Chang-young's team stated that the defendants' actions went beyond mere opposition and involved actively blocking access.
Investigators were ultimately able to detain Yoon on that day, after the Presidential Security Service had initially refused to cooperate earlier in the month. This indictment follows the Supreme Court's recent confirmation of a seven-year prison sentence for Yoon himself, for his role in obstructing investigators during his own detention attempt. This conviction marks the first finalized ruling for the former president, who is facing multiple trials following his imposition of martial law in December 2024. A district court had previously sentenced him to life in prison for leading an insurrection through his martial law bid, a ruling he has appealed.