Overview
- Special counsel Cho Eun-suk's team asked the Seoul Central District Court to sentence Yoon Suk Yeol to death on insurrection charges tied to his December 2024 martial law declaration.
- Prosecutors said Yoon intended to seize the judiciary and legislature, citing a planner’s memo and testimony that he ordered the arrest of lawmakers.
- The court set Feb. 19 for the verdict after an 11-hour final session in which Yoon denied wrongdoing and framed the decree as lawful emergency powers.
- South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, and the insurrection statute requires prosecutors to seek either the death penalty or life imprisonment.
- Requests for co-defendants included life for former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, 20 years for ex–police chief Cho Ji-ho, 15 years for ex–Seoul police chief Kim Bong-sik, and 30 years for ex–intelligence commander Noh Sang-won.