South Korean prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol should he be found guilty of orchestrating an insurrection through his failed martial law bid.
The demand came during closing arguments at Seoul Central District Court, targeting Yoon as the key figure in the December 2024 crisis that saw military rule imposed briefly before parliamentary resistance forced its reversal. That episode, lacking any genuine emergency pretext, led to his impeachment, detention, and trial on the nation’s gravest charge, which permits execution or life imprisonment.
Prosecutors detailed premeditated efforts dating back to late 2023 amid clashes with opposition lawmakers over budgets and probes. They presented testimony from a military commander about orders to arrest parliamentarians, plus a planner’s memo suggesting the removal of journalists, unionists, and politicians. Yoon’s intent, they argued, reflected a “lust for power aimed at dictatorship and long-term rule.”
“The greatest victims of the insurrection in this case are the people of this country,” they told the court. “There are no mitigating circumstances to be considered in sentencing, and instead a severe punishment must be imposed.”
Yoon insists the decree fell within his presidential remit as a warning against opposition overreach. Yonhap news agency quoted him stating he had done so to fend off the “wickedness that would ruin the nation.”
His trial incorporates cases against allies like ex-defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, facing life, and police chief Cho Ji-ho, sought for 20 years, alongside five others. South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, when a dictator’s death sentence was commuted. A verdict is due on 19 February, though courts often lessen such demands.