Special counsel again seeks death penalty for ex-President Yoon over martial law

A special counsel team on Thursday sought the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol during his appeal trial on insurrection charges stemming from his failed attempt to impose martial law.

Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team requested the sentence during proceedings at the Seoul High Court, eight months after a lower court sentenced Yoon to life imprisonment for staging a riot through his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024.

“There is no reason to hesitate to hand down the death penalty,” a member of the team said. “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 declared martial law with the stated aim of eradicating anti-state forces, though the order was lifted six hours later by a vote by the National Assembly.

During those six hours, troops were deployed to the National Assembly compound, which the lower court ruled in February was an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians.

“The commander in chief who had sworn to abide by the Constitution instead sent troops armed with guns pointing at the people,” the special counsel team member said.

“This was an unforgivable crime that destroyed the constitutional order and tried to turn back the clock of the Republic of Korea by 40 years.”

Yoon, who is charged with being the ringleader of an insurrection, has maintained that his declaration of martial law was meant as a warning to the opposition-controlled parliament amid its successive impeachments of senior government officials and attempts to cut the state budget.

The special counsel team said the lower court’s life sentence was too lenient and that the practice of not executing the death penalty should not be a reason to not hand it down.

Amnesty International has categorized South Korea as a death penalty abolitionist in practice, as the punishment has not been carried out since December 1997.

Under criminal law, the only three types of punishment possible for the ringleader of an insurrection are the death penalty, life imprisonment and life imprisonment without labor.

The Seoul High Court plans to hold two additional hearings before setting a sentencing date. Yoon’s final statement is scheduled to be delivered next Thursday.