Seoul: The final hearing of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's insurrection trial is poised to take place on Friday, drawing significant attention to the potential punishment he may face, including the death penalty. The trial, initiated in February following Yoon's indictment on charges of leading an insurrection via his December 3, 2024, declaration of martial law, will reach its conclusion with closing arguments scheduled for 9:20 a.m. at the Seoul Central District Court.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the session will also mark the final hearing for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, and five others accused of playing a crucial role in the insurrection by participating in the brief enforcement of martial law. Typically, such a hearing involves the prosecution's final opinion and sentencing recommendation, alongside the defendant's lawyer's closing arguments and the defendant's final statement.
In Yoon's case, special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team is expected to seek one of three punishments permitted by law for the leader of an insurrection: the death penalty, life imprisonment, or life imprisonment without forced labor. Legal sources predict that the court's sentencing will be announced in early February.
Yoon faces charges of conspiring with the former defense minister and others to stage a riot aimed at subverting the Constitution by unlawfully declaring martial law without the presence of war or a comparable national emergency. Notably, he is accused of deploying troops and police to block the National Assembly compound, preventing lawmakers from rejecting his decree, and ordering the arrest and detention of key political figures.
Yoon made history as the first sitting president to be indicted with physical detention in January last year. Although he was released in March following a court order that annulled his arrest, he was re-arrested in July on additional charges linked to his martial law attempt.
The courtroom for Friday's hearing has previously hosted trials for other former leaders charged with various offenses, including Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo. In 1996, they were recommended for the death penalty and life imprisonment, respectively, for their involvement in a 1979 coup that led to Chun's rise to power in 1980. Amnesty International has identified South Korea as a death penalty abolitionist in practice, as the punishment has not been enforced since December 1997.