South Korea's special prosecutor demanded the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday during his appeal trial on insurrection charges, seeking to overturn a life sentence imposed in February.
Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk's team made the request during proceedings at the Seoul High Court, arguing that the severity of Yoon's actions warranted the maximum penalty. The prosecution contends that Yoon orchestrated an unconstitutional insurrection by declaring emergency martial law on December 3, 2024, despite the absence of an actual war, military incident, or comparable national emergency. Under South Korean law, a ringleader convicted of insurrection may be punished only by capital punishment or life imprisonment, leaving no middle ground for a fixed-term sentence.
Yoon's martial law declaration, announced late on December 3, lasted approximately six hours. National Assembly lawmakers broke through a military blockade, established a quorum, and voted to nullify the decree. Yoon was impeached ten days later and formally removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April 2025. He was subsequently indicted in custody and sentenced to life imprisonment in February 2026 by the Seoul Central District Court, which found that he had illegally mobilized troops and police to seize the legislature and arrest political opponents.
During Thursday's hearing, prosecutors argued there was sufficient evidence to prove Yoon carefully planned the martial law insurrection and that he should receive no leniency for restraint during the episode, noting that he was prepared to use extreme force against those who attempted to stop him. Yoon's legal team countered that the martial law declaration was intended to raise public awareness of alleged attempts by the opposition-led legislature to paralyze state affairs and that prosecutors were advancing arguments "devoid of evidence and legal logic."
Yoon has also appealed a 30-year sentence handed down in June for ordering a drone incursion into North Korean airspace in October 2024. His attorneys argue he did not personally authorize the operation and characterize it as a reasonable response to North Korea's actions.
The Seoul High Court has not yet set a date for a verdict on Yoon's appeal. An execution remains unlikely: South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997 and effectively maintains a moratorium on capital punishment despite calls to abolish the death penalty entirely. The prosecution team has argued that the country's pause on executions should not prevent courts from imposing death sentences when warranted by the severity of a crime.
