SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Former South Korean President President Yoon Suk Yeol was convicted of making false statements during his presidential campaign in the latest verdict after he was removed from office last year over his brief imposition of martial law.
Yoon denied the charges, and his lawyers plan to appeal, arguing that the verdict was based on a misinterpretation of the facts and election law. If upheld by higher courts, the ruling could financially cripple the conservative People Power Party by forcing it to return around 40 billion won ($27 million) in election expenses reimbursed by the government after Yoon’s narrow victory over current liberal President Lee Jae Myung in 2022.
Under South Korean law, the government reimburses election expenses for candidates who receive more than 15% of the votes. The law requires those funds to be returned if the candidate is convicted of an election law violation punishable by a fine of 1 million won ($680) or heavier penalties.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Yoon to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, saying his false statements during the campaign may have affected voters’ “fair judgment” of the candidates.
Yoon quietly listened as the chief judge read the verdict and did not comment after the verdict. The People Power Party did not immediately comment on the ruling.
The court ruled that Yoon lied during a January 2022 interview in which he downplayed his relationship with a fortune teller. That man was later convicted of acting as an intermediary between Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, and the Unification Church, which allegedly bribed her in exchange for political favors.
The court also ruled that Yoon falsely denied at a December 2021 news conference that, while serving as a state prosecutor in 2012, he had introduced a defense attorney to a former Seoul tax official under investigation on bribery allegations.
The case was one of seven ongoing criminal trials facing Yoon, who remains in custody.
He was removed from office in April 2025, months after he issued his brief martial law decree in December 2024, which triggered the country’s biggest political crisis in decades.
Yoon has appealed some convictions, including for rebellion, the most serious charge stemming from his botched power grab. He was sentenced to life in prison in that case in February.
The Supreme Court earlier this month upheld a seven-year prison sentence against Yoon for sidestepping a legitimate Cabinet deliberation before declaring martial law and resisting law enforcement attempts to arrest him, in his first case to be finalized by the country’s highest court.
Yoon’s surprise late-night martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024, lasted only a few hours, after lawmakers broke through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers and police at Seoul’s National Assembly and voted to repeal the measure, forcing Yoon’s Cabinet to lift it.
FILE - South Korea's ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives to attend his trial at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — Police arrested one suspect and were looking for another after gunfire erupted at a crowded food festival beneath Seattle's Space Needle, leaving three people dead and four others injured, including a toddler.
Investigators believe the two suspects were shooting at each other and, although one remained on the loose, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis told a news conference Sunday night that there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Police did not have a description of the outstanding suspect, he said.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. The four wounded, including a 2-year-old boy, were hospitalized and in stable condition, said Grace Nuñez, spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department. The rest of the injured were adults. Davis couldn't say if any of the victims were involved in the confrontation.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual three-day festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
Dozens of officers were providing security at the event and some saw one of the suspects firing, Davis said. One suspect surrendered at the scene, but the other fled. Law enforcement searched the grounds to no avail.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center campus.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out. She realized a shooter was near them. She and others found shelter in the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum.
“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running,” Hunter said. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”
In the chaos, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours afterward, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and were told by police to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and he turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to make photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The annual festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees over “three days of food, drink, and community celebration,” according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, center, speaks at a news conference after a shooting at the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A police officer stands at a closed off area after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A police officer responds after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
