(LEAD) 4 PPP lawmakers indicted for blocking investigators from detaining ex-President Yoon in 2025

According to a special counsel team, four legislators belonging to the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) have been indicted for allegedly obstructing officials from detaining former President Yoon Suk Yeol in 2025. The lawmakers in question are Reps. Na Kyung-won, Kim Gi-hyeon, Kwon Young-jin, and Yoon Sang-hyun. The indictment alleges that the four formed a human barrier with Yoon's supporters outside the presidential residence on January 15, 2025, during investigators' second attempt to detain Yoon in connection with his failed martial law bid.

The special counsel team, led by Kwon Chang-young, reached this conclusion after examining video footage of the event and testimonies from officials who participated in the operation. The investigators ultimately managed to apprehend Yoon that day after the Presidential Security Service declined to cooperate earlier in the month.

This marks the first finalized conviction for Yoon, who has been facing multiple trials following his short-lived martial law imposition in December 2024. In February, a district court sentenced him to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection through his martial law bid, a ruling he has appealed.