In brief
On Thursday, a special counsel team demanded the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol in his insurrection appeal trial at the Seoul High Court. The request follows an earlier life‑imprisonment ruling and echoes prosecutors’ January demand. Yoon, who declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, was removed from office after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment in April 2025.
On Thursday, Oct. 28, Seoul’s High Court heard a request from Special Counsel Cho Eun‑suk’s team to impose the death penalty on former President Yoon Suk Yeol for insurrection stemming from his 2024 martial‑law declaration.
The contest comes eight months after a lower court handed Yoon a life‑imprisonment sentence for staging a riot by declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. The High Court will hold two more hearings before setting a sentencing date.
Central to the appeal is the short‑lived martial law order, lifted six hours later by a National Assembly vote. During those hours troops were deployed to the Assembly compound, which the lower court found was an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians.
"There is no reason to hesitate to hand down the death penalty," a member of the team said.
"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."
Yoon maintains his declaration was a warning to an opposition‑controlled parliament amid a series of impeachments and budget cuts. The prosecution argues that the lower court’s life sentence was too lenient and that the practice of not execution should not bar the maximum penalty.
Amnesty International notes that South Korea has not carried out a death sentence since Dec. 1997, classifying the country as a death‑penalty abolitionist in practice. Under criminal law, an insurrection ringleader may receive only death penalty, life imprisonment or life imprisonment without labor.
Yoon faces eight trials linked to his martial‑law attempt, alleged corruption of 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, sparking a snap presidential election.
Special Counsel Cho said the request for capital punishment mirrors the original plea made in the first‑instance trial. The Seoul High Court has scheduled Yoon’s final statement for next Thursday.
