South Korean prosecutors on Tuesday said they were seeking the death sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed attempt to declare martial law in December 2024.
The special counsel team, assembled in the wake of Yoon’s impeachment in April, described the former president as the ringleader of an insurrection, citing his efforts to seize control of the judiciary and legislature during the abortive martial law attempt. The entire episode lasted six hours.
“Former President Yoon declared martial law with the purpose of remaining in power for a long time by seizing the judiciary and legislature,” said assistant special counsel Park Eok-su, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.
Insurrection charges carry limited sentencing options: life imprisonment, with compulsory labor and without, and the death sentence.
The sentencing request, which came during the final hearing of Yoon’s trial, prompted a faint smile from Yoon and loud jeering from his supporters in the Seoul Central District Court, according to local media reports.
The former president has argued that his push to impose martial law was meant to draw attention to the obstruction of his political opponents in South Korea’s legislature, which he has described as “anti-state” forces. Upon his declaration, armed troops surrounded the National Assembly building in Seoul. Protesters took to the streets in response, and lawmakers rushed to the building to vote down Yoon’s decree.
The verdict in Yoon’s case is expected in February. While the death penalty remains on the books in South Korea, the country has not carried out an execution since 1997.
The post Prosecutors seek death for South Korea’s former leader over martial law attempt appeared first on Washington Post.
