Legal representatives for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday accused a Seoul court of being politically motivated in its sentencing of their client the previous day. On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court handed down a five-year prison term on Yoon on charges that included the obstruction of investigators' attempt to detain him last year. It was the first ruling on charges stemming from Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024. In particular, Yoon was charged with ordering the Presidential Security Service to block investigators from executing a warrant to detain him at the presidential residence in January 2025. Yoon's legal team released a statement Saturday saying the court's ruling was "purely based on political reasoning," while also lamenting the "disappearance of legal principles and collapse of constitutionalism." "A judge must recognize the impact his ruling can have on society, but at the same time, that recognition alone must not be the reason to alter standards for his decision," the lawyers said. "A trial must be concluded based on evidence