In brief
In a hearing at Seoul High Court, prosecutors requested that former President Yoon Suk‑yeol be sentenced to death for declaring martial law in December 2024. The request follows a February life‑imprisonment ruling and reflects prosecutors’ view that the former president’s actions threatened the constitutional order. The court will hold additional hearings before deciding on a final sentence.
In Seoul, prosecutors on Thursday demanded the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk‑yeol during his appeal trial over an insurrection tied to his December 2024 declaration of martial law, according to the Seoul High Court. Special counsel Cho Eun‑suk’s team, which had already sought capital punishment in the first‑instance trial, argued that Yoon’s attempt to impose an unconstitutional emergency order and deploy troops to the National Assembly violated the constitution and threatened the country’s democratic order.
The emergency order was issued on the night of Dec. 3 2024, with Yoon stating he would eradicate anti‑state forces. It was revoked six hours later by a National Assembly vote, after troops were moved to the assembly’s compound. A lower court ruled in February that the brief martial‑law declaration constituted an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians, and it handed Yoon a life‑imprisonment sentence.
Yoon maintains that his martial‑law declaration was a warning to an opposition‑controlled parliament amid its successive impeachments of senior officials and attempts to cut the state budget. He has kept a low public profile while fighting the charges, saying he was acting to protect national security.
Prosecutors say the lower court’s life sentence was too lenient and that the country’s practice of not carrying out death‑penalty executions should not deter the court from imposing it when warranted. Under criminal law, a ringleader of insurrection can be sentenced only to death or to life imprisonment, with or without labor.
Amnesty International reports that South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, classifying the country as a death‑penalty abolitionist in practice. Nevertheless, prosecutors have pursued the maximum penalty since January, when Yoon was indicted as a suspected ringleader of insurrection.
Besides the martial‑law case, Yoon faces seven other trials involving alleged corruption and the 2023 death of a marine officer. He was formally removed from office in April 2025 after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld his impeachment over the Dec. 3, 2024 martial‑law declaration, which triggered a snap presidential election.
The Seoul High Court will hold two additional hearings before setting a sentencing date. Yoon’s final statement is scheduled for next Thursday, after which the court will decide whether to impose the death penalty or life imprisonment.
A member of the special counsel team said:
There is no reason to hesitate to hand down the death penalty. The strongest argument for objection to the death penalty is the possibility of a misjudgment just in case, but in this case, there is no room for that.
Another member said:
The commander in chief who had sworn to abide by the Constitution instead sent troops armed with guns pointing at the people. This was an unforgivable crime that destroyed the constitutional order and tried to turn back the clock of the Republic of Korea by 40 years.
