Yoon Suk Yeol, the former president of South Korea who was removed from office after declaring martial law in December 2024, was found guilty on several charges on Friday.

The court sentenced him to five years in jail.

Friday's court ruling is the first of several related to the surprise martial law declaration that lasted a mere six hours due to the South Korean parliament, including members of his own party, voting to end it.

What was ex-President Yoon found guilty of?

Yoon has so far been found guilty of:

• Not following due process before declaring martial law
• Fabricating official documentation related to the declaration
• Destroying potential criminal evidence by wiping official phone data
• Obstructing authorities from executing an arrest warrant

"Despite having a duty, above all others, to uphold the Constitution and observe the rule of law as president, the defendant instead displayed an attitude that disregarded the... Constitution," Judge Baek Dae-hyun said.

"The defendant's culpability is extremely grave," he added.

One of Yoon's lawyers, Yoo Jung-hwa, said immediately after the ruling that the former president would appeal the decision.

"We express regret that the decision was made in a politicised manner," she said.

Separate trials will consider other charges, including the charge of masterminding insurrection, for which prosecutors have called for Yoon to be sentenced to death.

The ruling on this charge is expected in February.

Why did Yoon declare martial law in South Korea?

Yoon's martial law declaration came as a shock and shook Asia's fourth-largest economy that is often considered a highly resilient democracy.

He justified the move, saying his plan had been to restore democratic order, claiming the country was being besieged by the opposition and "anti-state" forces.

This came after his right-wing People Power Party lost its parliamentary majority earlier that year.

After his martial law declaration failed, Yoon barricaded himself into his residential compound and ordered his security service to block investigators from arresting him.

Following a failed arrest attempt, some 3,000 police officers were able to break through and apprehend the then-sitting president, a first in South Korea's history.

The Constitutional Court officially removed him from office a couple of months later, ruling that he had violated the duties of the presidency.

Lee Jae Myung from the rival liberal Democratic Party was elected to replace Yoon as president in June of last year.

Edited by: Kieran Burke