On Thursday, the Seoul High Court heard a renewed request from the special counsel to hand death penalty to former President Yoon Suk‑yeol over an insurrection sparked by his brief declaration of martial law on 3 December 2024, according to reports from Yonhap and Xinhua.
The prosecutorial team, headed by Cho Eun‑suk, made the capital‑punishment demand eight months after the lower court awarded Yoon a life sentence for staging a riot through that martial‑law order, a decision that Yoon’s supporters have described as excessive.
In the proceedings, underscoring the severity of the alleged offense, a member of the 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.
Yoon’s military order was intended, he has claimed, to eradicate “anti‑state forces” amid a hostile parliament that had repeatedly impeached senior officials and cut the state budget. The order was overturned after a National Assembly vote, lifting the martial law within six hours and making the deployment of troops to the Assembly compound a disputed act of intimidation that the lower court described as an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians.
The special counsel’s argument stresses that the executive’s deviation from constitutional guarantees, especially the use of armed forces against civilians, constitutes “an unforgivable crime that destroyed the constitutional order” and “a return to the Republic of Korea’s 40‑year‑old constitutional norm.”
The appeal sits under the legal framework in which the ringleader of an insurrection can be sentenced to the death penalty, life imprisonment, or life imprisonment without labor. The Seoul High Court plans to hold two additional hearings before setting a sentencing date, and Yoon is scheduled to deliver his final statement next Thursday, according to the court calendar reported by Yonhap.
Yoon’s legal troubles extend beyond this case. He faces a total of eight trials linked to his martial‑law attempt, alleged corruption involving his wife and the 2023 death of a marine officer, as noted by Anadolu Agency. In addition, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment that removed him from office in April 2025, paving the way for a snap election.
Amnesty International has labeled South Korea an abolitionist in practice, noting that capital punishment has not been carried out since December 1997, a fact highlighted by prosecutors who argue that the historical practice should not preclude a maximum sentence in this grave case.
While the prosecution’s request for the death penalty is firmly lodged, the Seoul High Court has not yet issued a verdict, and no evidence to date shows a consensus among the judges. The court’s upcoming rulings will determine whether the life sentence or a capital sentence will be imposed, leaving the final outcome uncertain. The case also raises ongoing questions about the limits of executive power, the role of the National Assembly, and the application of South Korea’s criminal statutes for insurrection. These uncertainties, as reported by the outlets cited, remain unresolved pending the court’s decision.
