An independent counsel has asked a South Korean court to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to death on rebellion charges tied to his short-lived imposition of martial law in December 2024.
Yoon, who was removed from office last April and is in jail, faces eight trials over criminal allegations related to the martial law episode and other scandals that arose during his time in office. The rebellion charges are the most significant ones among the cases, according to court-focused reporting summarized by the Associated Press.
Independent counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team requested that the Seoul Central District Court impose the death penalty, describing Yoon’s martial law decree as “anti-state activities” and “a self-coup.” Cho’s team also alleged that Yoon aimed to prolong his rule by neutralizing the constitutional structure of state governance systems.
At the same court hearing, Yoon condemned the investigations on his rebellion charges. He said the proceedings have been “frenzied” and involved “manipulation” and “distortion.” Yoon also argued that his decree was a desperate attempt to raise public awareness about what he said was the danger posed by the Democratic Party, which he said used its legislative majority to obstruct his agenda.
Yoon further said that the president’s emergency powers could not be punished as rebellion. The court is expected to deliver a verdict in February, and experts said the likely outcome would be life imprisonment rather than death.
South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, and local courts have rarely issued the death penalty in recent years. Yoon is also described as the first former South Korean president to face a potential death sentence after leaving office since former military strongman Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death in 1996; Chun’s death sentence was later commuted to life and he was eventually pardoned and released.
Beyond the sentencing request, the case centers on the December 2024 martial law decree that Yoon issued, which observers said was unprecedented in more than 40 years. The decree brought armed troops into Seoul streets, including to encircle the National Assembly and enter election offices, and no major injuries were reported.
On the night of the declaration, thousands of people gathered at the National Assembly to object to the decree and demand Yoon’s resignation. The reporting said enough lawmakers, including members of Yoon’s ruling party, managed to enter an assembly hall to vote down the decree, and the sequence was described as a spectacular political downfall for the former star prosecutor who had won the presidency in 2022.
The reporting said the National Assembly impeached Yoon and sent the matter to the Constitutional Court, which ruled to dismiss him as president. It also said the resulting power vacuum plunged South Korea into political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy, and rattled financial markets.
Independent counsel Cho’s team, in wrapping up a six-month investigation last month, concluded that Yoon plotted for over a year to impose martial law to eliminate political rivals and monopolize power. The bribery-related allegations involving Yoon’s wife, Kim Keon Hee, were also noted as part of the broader set of cases that the independent counsels are pursuing, with the reporting stating that she was arrested and indicted for bribery and other charges in August.
The rebellion charges carry either the death sentence or life imprisonment if convicted, with judges having leeway to commute the sentence to as little as 10 years. The Associated Press also reported that Cho’s team last month requested a 10-year prison term for Yoon in a separate case involving charges that include defiance of attempts to execute his detainment warrant and other allegations.
In other related proceedings, the AP reported that Cho’s team demanded a life sentence for Yoon’s defense minister, Kim Yong Hyun, and prison terms of 10-30 years for former senior military and police officers over their roles. The reporting said Yoon denies all charges in the rebellion case and in the other trials.