The ruling party criticized the five-year prison sentence imposed on former President Yoon Suk Yeol for obstructing an attempt to arrest him over his declaration of martial law, while the main opposition party called for fairness in the trial proceedings.

Ruling Democratic Party floor spokesperson Baek Seung-ah said Saturday that the sentence fell far short of reflecting the seriousness of Yoon’s alleged violations of the Constitution and democratic order, as well as his abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

Baek urged the judiciary to give serious consideration to prosecutors’ request for the death penalty over Yoon’s martial law attempt when delivering its verdict on Feb. 19, calling the ruling a potential turning point in addressing the alleged insurrection.

The spokesperson also urged the main opposition's 45 representatives to apologize to the public and take political and legal responsibility for systematically blocking law enforcement's attempt to arrest Yoon in January last year.

Main opposition People Power Party(PPP) chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon, on the other hand, said his party hopes for the judiciary to conduct a fair trial based on the Constitution and the law.

Regarding the ruling party’s demand that PPP lawmakers apologize for blocking the arrest attempt, the spokesperson said it would be appropriate to wait for the court’s final ruling in the case.