In brief
Special counsel Cho Eun‑suk’s team formally requested the death penalty for Yoon on Thursday at the Seoul High Court, arguing that the lower court’s life sentence was too light. The request follows a February life‑imprisonment ruling and is backed by prosecutors’ earlier death‑penalty demand in January. The case stems from Yoon’s brief martial‑law declaration, which was revoked hours later by the National Assembly. Anadolu Agency reports that Yoon now faces a total of eight trials, including corruption allegations involving his wife and the 2023 death of a marine officer.
South Korean prosecutors pressed the death penalty again for former President Yoon Suk‑yeol on Thursday, saying the lower court’s life sentence failed to reflect the gravity of his December 2024 martial‑law attempt. The special counsel team—led by Cho Eun‑suk—made the request during appeal proceedings at the Seoul High Court.
The prosecutors’ demand echoes the January request for capital punishment and builds on the February life‑imprisonment ruling that found Yoon the ringleader of an insurrection. The court can impose only the death penalty or life imprisonment on a primed insurrectionist, according to Korean criminal law.
The move follows Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, which was cancelled hours later by a National Assembly vote. During those six hours, troops were stationed at the National Assembly compound, an act the lower court described as an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians.
“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.”
A former member of the prosecution team said Yoon’s order “destroyed the constitutional order” and tried to roll Korea back by four decades.
The Seoul High Court will hold two more hearings before setting a sentencing date, and Yoon’s final statement is scheduled for next Thursday. The case also includes additional trials related to alleged corruption involving Yoon’s wife and the 2023 death of a marine officer, a fact reported only by Anadolu Agency.
