In brief
Special counsel Cho Eun‑suk’s team requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk‑yeol during an appellate trial in Seoul, reiterating a demand made at the first‑instance trial. Yoon had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court in February for staging a riot through the brief declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. The court will hold two more hearings before deciding on sentencing, and Yoon’s final statement is expected next Thursday.
Special counsel Cho Eun‑suk’s team said Thursday it was again seeking a death sentence for former President Yoon Suk‑yeol in the Seoul High Court’s appellate trial for insurrection linked to the brief martial‑law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.
Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment by a lower court in February for “staging a riot” through that declaration, which was revoked hours later by a National Assembly vote, according to the court’s ruling.
Cho’s team reiterated that the life sentence was too lenient and claimed that the practice of no executions in South Korea should not be a bar to capital punishment.
During the ruling, a member of the special counsel team stated,
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.
The prosecutor’s team noted that Yoon declared martial law “to eradicate anti‑state forces,” and that troops were deployed to the National Assembly compound during the six‑hour period before the order was lifted, a move described as an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians.
Yoon, who maintains his declaration was a warning to an opposition‑controlled parliament, remains the ringleader of the insurrection charges.
The Seoul High Court will hold two additional hearings before setting a sentencing date, and Yoon’s final statement is scheduled for next Thursday.
