Death penalty requested for former South Korean President Yoon

At the trial for the attempted imposition of martial law in December 2024, special prosecutors have requested the maximum sentence for the deposed former head of state. A verdict is expected in February. South Korea has not carried out capital executions since 1997. The precedent was set with Chun Doo-hwan, whose death sentence was commuted to life in prison (followed by a pardon).

Seoul (AsiaNews) – The team of special prosecutors representing the government at the trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol today requested the death penalty for his role in the failed attempt to impose martial law, describing him as the leader of an insurrection who attempted to stay in power by seizing control of the judiciary and legislative branches of government.

The team led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk made the request during the final hearing of Yoon's trial at the Seoul Central District Court, just over a year after the then-president declared martial law on 3 December 2024, with the stated aim of eradicating anti-state forces.

As the conviction request was made, the former president gave a faint smile from the dock, while some of his supporters in the courtroom shouted loud insults.

“Cheong Wa Dae (Presidential Palace)[*] would expect the judiciary to deliver a verdict on the special counsel's sentencing request in accordance with the law and principles, and in a manner that meets public expectations," reads as press release issued by the Office of the President shortly after the sentencing request was made.

Legal sources expect the court to issue its verdict on Yoon's case in February.

Yoon was indicted in January 2025 on charges of leading an insurrection by declaring martial law. He was accused of fomenting a riot with the aim of subverting the constitution, after conspiring with former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others, and of illegally declaring martial law in the absence of a war or equivalent national emergency.

Specifically, he is accused of mobilising troops and police to seal off the National Assembly and prevent lawmakers from voting against his decree, as well as ordering the arrest and detention of the National Assembly speaker and the then-leaders of the ruling and the main opposition parties.

Under South Korea’s Criminal Act, leading an insurrection carries three possible penalties: the death penalty, life imprisonment with hard labour, and life imprisonment without hard labour.

Fixed prison sentences and suspended sentences are not permitted.

Yoon became the first sitting president to be charged with physical detention. Released in March following a court order, he returned to prison in July after additional charges were brought, again related to his attempt to impose martial law.

Today's hearing began in the morning and lasted approximately 11 hours before the team of special prosecutors issued their final opinion and sentence requests.

For former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, accused of playing a key role in the insurrection, the special prosecutors requested a life sentence. A 30-year prison sentence was requested for former Defence Intelligence Command head Noh Sang-won, 20 years for former National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, and 15 years for former Seoul Metropolitan Police chief Kim Bong-sik.

Regarding the death penalty, South Korea is classified as a de facto abolitionist country, as no executions have been carried out since December 1997.

Former President Chun Doo-hwan, tried for insurrection in 1996, was also given the death penalty for his role in the 1979 coup that brought him to power and in the violent military repression of the Gwangju democratisation movement in 1980, which allowed him to remain in power until 1988.

The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment, and he was subsequently pardoned in 1997 in a gesture of national reconciliation by then-President Kim Dae-jung, a former dissident persecuted by the military junta led by Chun Doo-hwan.

[*] Literally, the "Cyan-tile Pavilion'", also known as the Blue House, serving as the executive office and residence of the president of South Korea.

• south korea
• trial
• former president
• yoon suk-yeol
• death penalty