South Korea Prosecutors Again Seek Death Penalty for Ex-President Yoon Over Martial Law

South Korea Prosecutors Again Seek Death Penalty for Ex-President Yoon Over Martial Law

South Korean special prosecutors on Thursday again asked a court to sentence former president Yoon Suk Yeol to death over his failed martial law declaration, reopening one of the most dramatic chapters in the country's modern political history. The request came during closing arguments in Yoon's appeal trial at the Seoul High Court, eight months after a lower court sentenced him to life in prison for leading an insurrection.

Prosecutors argued the December 3, 2024 decree was a premeditated attempt to overthrow the constitutional order, saying there was evidence of at least eight months of planning. They told the court the lower court's life sentence was too lenient and that South Korea's long pause on executions should not stop judges from handing down a death sentence. Yoon's defence team rejected the request as legally unfounded, maintaining the decree was meant as a warning to an opposition-controlled parliament that had repeatedly impeached senior officials and tried to cut the state budget.

The martial law order lasted only about six hours before lawmakers voted it down, but troops had already been sent to the National Assembly compound. The lower court ruled the deployment was an attempt to paralyse parliament and detain politicians. Prosecutors also sought heavy sentences for former officials, including life for ex-defence minister Kim Yong-hyun. South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997. The court will hear final arguments and Yoon's own statement on November 5 before setting a sentencing date.

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