Seoul: A court on Friday postponed the hearing for the sentencing request for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, related to his botched imposition of martial law, to next week. This decision came after delayed proceedings earlier in the day at the Seoul Central District Court, during what was intended to be the final hearing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the bench announced it would schedule an additional session next Tuesday to hear the sentencing request from special counsel Cho Eun-suk and Yoon's final statement. The special counsel team had been expected to request one of three severe punishments allowed by law for the ringleader of an insurrection: the death penalty, life imprisonment, or life imprisonment without forced labor. Yoon was indicted last January on charges of leading an insurrection through his December 2024 declaration of martial law.
Friday's session was anticipated to extend late into the night as eight defendants, including the ousted president, were scheduled to present their final statements and have their lawyers deliver closing arguments. The other seven defendants include former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, both accused of playing key roles in the brief execution of martial law.
The proceedings lasted longer than expected, with Kim's lawyers examining paper evidence for over 10 hours. After 9 p.m., the bench announced it would end the session after the seven defendants, aside from Yoon, completed their respective paper evidence examinations and closing arguments. The special counsel's sentencing recommendation and closing arguments, as well as Yoon's final statement, were postponed to the following Tuesday.
Legal sources predict the court's sentencing will occur in early February. Yoon is charged with conspiring with the former defense minister and others to stage a riot aimed at subverting the Constitution by illegally declaring martial law without a war or equivalent national emergency. In particular, he is accused of mobilizing troops and police to seal off the National Assembly compound to prevent lawmakers from voting down his decree and ordering the arrest of key political figures.
Yoon, the first sitting president to be indicted with physical detention in January last year, was released in March following a court order but was taken into custody again in July on additional charges related to his martial law attempt. The courtroom where Friday's hearing was held is the same venue where former leaders, including Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, were tried for various offenses, receiving sentencing recommendations of the death penalty and life imprisonment, respectively, for their roles in a 1979 coup.
Amnesty International has categorized South Korea as a death penalty abolitionist in practice, as the punishment has not been carried out since December 1997.