Overview
- Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team presented its sentencing recommendation for Yoon after defense arguments, with penalties under law ranging from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
- Yoon is accused of illegally declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, mobilizing troops and police to block a National Assembly vote, and ordering detentions of political leaders.
- The panel heard final statements from eight defendants, including former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former National Police Agency chief Cho Ji-ho, who are accused of key roles in the brief execution of martial law.
- A separate trial on charges of benefiting the enemy opened behind closed doors over an alleged 2024 drone dispatch toward Pyongyang; Yoon’s team sought the bench’s recusal, briefly halting the session before withdrawing the request.
- The special counsel requested 15 years for former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min over alleged assistance to the martial law attempt, as Yoon awaits a separate first-instance verdict Friday on resistance-to-arrest and related charges.