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yesterday

Yoon Attends Final Insurrection Trial Hearing as Prosecutors Ready Sentencing Recommendation

Most members of the special counsel team reportedly prefer recommending life imprisonment over capital punishment.

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A group of far right wing protesters greets a bus carrying former President Yoon Suk Yeol as he arrives for the final arguments in his insurrection trial, at a court in Seoul, South Korea, January 9, 2026. The sign reads "Cheer up Yoon Suk Yeol." REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
A woman holds up a banner as she waits for former President Yoon Suk Yeol's arrival for the final arguments in his insurrection trial, at a court in Seoul, South Korea, January 9, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo

Overview

  • The final hearing began at 9:20 a.m. Friday at the Seoul Central District Court with all eight defendants, including the jailed former president, in attendance.
  • Special counsel Cho Eun-seok is expected to deliver a sentencing recommendation that could seek the death penalty, life imprisonment, or life without forced labor.
  • Legal sources say the prosecution team met Thursday and most favored urging life imprisonment rather than capital punishment.
  • Prosecutors allege Yoon’s Dec. 3, 2024 martial-law declaration aimed to subvert the Constitution by mobilizing forces to block a parliamentary vote and by ordering arrests of top political figures.
  • The court’s sentencing is anticipated in early February, and prosecutors have noted Yoon’s refusal to cooperate with the investigation and his absence from earlier hearings in weighing punishment.