Prosecutors seek death sentence for ousted South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol

A special counsel on Tuesday asked a court in Seoul to sentence South Korea’s impeached and ousted former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, to death on the charge of leading an insurrection when he briefly imposed martial law in late 2024. The three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court held its last hearing on the insurrection charge on Tuesday and is expected to deliver its verdict and sentence Mr.

Yoon in the coming weeks. If convicted, South Korea’s criminal code allows only two punishments: the death penalty or life imprisonment. Mr. Yoon declared martial law on the night of Dec. 3, 2024; it lasted six hours after the opposition-led National Assembly voted it down and citizens blocked troops from taking over the legislature, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have argued that his decision to ban all political activities and order military commanders to seize the National Assembly amounted to an insurrection, and said he conspired with commanders and police chiefs to detain political opponents and ordered troops to raid the National Election Commission to collect evidence of voting fraud.

Mr.

Key Topics

Politics, Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea, Seoul, National Assembly, Martial Law