Yoon is on trial for insurrection charges, after trying to declare martial law in late 2024
South Korean prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law declaration in December 2024, in the first insurrection trial of a Korean head of state in three decades.
Prosecutors characterised the case as the “serious destruction of constitutional order by anti-state forces”, telling Seoul central district court that Yoon had “directly and fundamentally infringed upon the safety of the state and the survival and freedom of the people”.
Under South Korea’s criminal code, insurrection ringleader charges carry just three possible sentences: the death penalty, life imprisonment with labour, or life imprisonment without labour. A verdict is expected in mid-February.
Prosecutors demanded life imprisonment with labour for former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun, describing him as having “moved as one body” with Yoon throughout the conspiracy.
