South Korea’s special prosecutor is expected to seek the death penalty or life imprisonment for former president Yoon Suk Yeol on insurrection charges. Lower court convened its final hearing on Friday over his brief imposition of martial law in 2024.
Yoon, 65, is accused of orchestrating an insurrection by attempting to suspend parliament and seize legislative powers. Under South Korean law, the charges carry a maximum penalty of death or life in prison, although the country has observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.
Prosecutors allege plot to suspend parliament
According to prosecutors, Yoon aimed to label political rivals, including then opposition leader Lee Jae Myung, as «anti-state forces» and sought their detention. They also allege that Yoon and Kim attempted to justify martial law by inflaming tensions with North Korea through a covert drone operation.
The failed martial law order, which lasted about six hours, rattled Asia’s fourth-largest economy and a key U.S. ally long regarded as one of the region’s most resilient democracies. Yoon, 65, has denied the allegations, arguing that declaring martial law fell within his presidential powers and was intended to warn against opposition obstruction.
Political fallout and wider charges
Wearing a dark suit and appearing thinner than at the start of the trial in February, Yoon attended the hearing alongside seven co-defendants, including Kim. The session opened early for defence arguments, followed by prosecutors’ closing statements and sentencing requests.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict in February, bringing to a close more than a year of political turmoil triggered by Yoon’s martial law declaration on December 3, 2024. The order was revoked within hours after lawmakers breached security at the National Assembly to vote against it. Yoon was later impeached and removed from office, and a snap election in June returned Lee Jae Myung to the presidency.
Yoon also faces additional charges, including abuse of power and obstructing the execution of an arrest warrant.
