Overview
- Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team asked the Seoul Central District Court to sentence Yoon to death, calling his 2024 martial law declaration a self-coup to seize the judiciary and legislature.
- Prosecutors argued he mobilized troops and police to encircle the National Assembly and sought the arrest of parliamentary leaders; Yoon denied wrongdoing, saying he acted within constitutional emergency powers.
- The court will also sentence co-defendants, with sought terms including life for former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, 30 years for retired intelligence commander Noh Sang-won, and up to 20 years for former police chiefs.
- The Dec. 3, 2024 decree spurred mass protests as lawmakers entered the chamber and voted down the order within hours, and Yoon was subsequently impeached and removed from office.
- Insurrection charges allow only death or life imprisonment, and South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997, a record that observers say makes any death sentence unlikely in practice.