In brief
On Oct. 29, 2026, Seoul prosecutors led by Cho Eun‑suk again demanded the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol in an appellate trial over an insurrection arising from his failed martial‑law declaration. The request follows a February life‑imprisonment ruling and reflects the court’s only possible sentences for an insurrection ringleader. The legal proceedings remain ongoing, with Yoon’s final statement scheduled for the following week.
Seoul prosecutors, led by Special Counsel Cho Eun‑suk, filed a request for the death penalty against former President Yoon Suk Yeol during his appellate trial on insurrection charges linked to the December 3, 2024 martial‑law declaration.
The request was made on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, at the Seoul High Court. It echoes the lower court’s life‑imprisonment sentence handed to Yoon in February after a ruling that he had staged a riot by declaring martial law for a few hours before it was withdrawn by a National Assembly vote.
Yoon has faced a total of eight separate trials connected to the martial‑law incident, allegations of corruption involving his wife, and the 2023 death of a marine officer. He was formally removed from office in April 2025 after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment over the December 3 declaration.
Under South Korean criminal law, an insurrection ringleader can only be sentenced to death or life imprisonment, with no option for a custodial sentence that includes labor.
Amnesty International notes that South Korea is a death‑penalty abolitionist in practice, having not carried out an execution since December 1997.
Yoon maintains that his martial‑law order was intended as a warning to an opposition‑controlled parliament during a period of aggressive impeachment and budgetary cuts, arguing that the order was not unconstitutional.
Yoon’s final statement in the appellate proceedings is scheduled for next Thursday. The Seoul High Court plans two additional hearings before setting a sentencing date.
The special counsel team stated that the lower court’s life sentence was too lenient and that the historical practice of not executing the death penalty should not preclude its imposition.
"There is no reason to hesitate to hand down the death penalty," a member of the team said.
The statement was made during the proceedings at the Seoul High Court. The team urged that there was no room for a misjudgment in this case, arguing that the earlier martial‑law attempt had the effect of attempting to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians, thereby threatening the constitutional order.
