Seoul: A special counsel team on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed imposition of martial law, describing him as the ringleader of an insurrection who sought to stay in power by seizing control of the judiciary and legislature. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team requested the sentence during the final hearing of Yoon's trial at the Seoul Central District Court, just over a year after the then-president declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, with the stated aim of eradicating anti-state forces.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Yoon was indicted last January on charges of leading an insurrection through his declaration of martial law. He was accused of staging a riot with the aim of subverting the Constitution after conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others, and illegally declaring martial law in the absence of war or an equivalent national emergency. In particular, he was charged with mobilizing troops and the police to seal off the National Assembly compound and prevent lawmakers from voting down his decree, and ordering the arrest and detention of the National Assembly speaker and the then leaders of the ruling and main opposition parties.
Yoon became the first sitting president to be indicted with physical detention in January last year. He was released in March following a court order that canceled his arrest but was taken into custody again in July on additional charges related to his martial law attempt. "Former President Yoon did not reflect on how his actions led to a grave violation of the constitutional order and democracy," assistant special counsel Park Eok-su stated. "The biggest victims were the people who defended this through sacrifice in the face of dictatorship and authoritarianism."
The hearing commenced with a paper evidence examination by Yoon's lawyers, lasting about 11 hours before the special counsel team presented its final opinion and sentencing recommendation. The session resumed after being suspended last Friday due to delays caused by the former defense minister's lawyers, who spent eight hours examining paper evidence.
On Tuesday, special prosecutors demanded life imprisonment for the former minister on charges of playing a key role in an insurrection through his involvement in the martial law execution. For former National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, the team demanded 20 years in prison on the same charge, while for former Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency chief Kim Bong-sik it sought 15 years in prison, and for retired Army Maj. Gen. Noh Sang-won, a former commander of the Defense Intelligence Command, 30 years.
Amnesty International has categorized South Korea as a death penalty abolitionist in practice, as the punishment has not been carried out since December 1997. Former President Chun Doo-hwan also stood trial on insurrection charges in 1996, where the death penalty was recommended for his roles in a 1979 coup and the military's violent suppression of the Gwangju democratization movement in 1980. Legal sources anticipate the court will rule on Yoon's case in February.