South Korea’s special prosecutor has sought the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of orchestrating a rebellion over his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024.
South Korea has not carried out a death sentence in nearly three decades.
In closing arguments at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, the prosecutor said investigators had confirmed the existence of a plan allegedly orchestrated by Yoon and his former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, dating back to October 2023, to keep Yoon in power.
“Yoon… claims he committed extraordinary martial law to protect liberal democracy, but his unconstitutional and illegal extraordinary martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Electoral Commission… effectively destroyed the liberal democratic constitutional order,” the prosecutor said in closing arguments.
“The defendant was not genuinely sorry for the act … nor did he properly apologize to the people.”
Yoon shook his head and appeared to chuckle as he heard the sentencing request, while some of his supporters in court also laughed or even muttered expletives, prompting the judge to call for the order.
Yoon denies the allegations
While the botched martial law effort lasted only about six hours, it sent shockwaves through South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a key US security ally and long considered one of Asia’s most resilient democracies.
Yoon, 65, denied the charges. According to the Yonhap news agency, he said in court that he declared martial law to repel “evil that would destroy the nation.”
He argued that it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the purpose of the action was to sound the alarm about the disruption of the government by opposition parties.
The court will decide on the case on February 19.
The punishment sought by prosecutors is not always upheld in South Korean courts.
In a previous court case in 1995-1996 in which former South Korean presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were charged with rebellion, prosecutors sought the death penalty and life in prison for Chun and Roh.
A lower court handed down the death penalty for Chun and 22-1/2 years in prison for Roh, before an appeals court revised the life sentence for Chun and 17 years in prison for Roh. Both received presidential pardons after spending about two years in prison.
South Korea last carried out a death sentence in 2016, but has not executed anyone since 1997.
The office of President Lee Jae Myung, who was elected after Yoon was ousted last year, said in a statement that it “believes the judiciary will rule … in accordance with the law, principles and public standards.”
