Special Counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team asked South Korea’s appeals court to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to death, challenging the life sentence imposed in February in his insurrection case.
The Korea Herald reported Thursday that the team made the request at the Seoul High Court. The special counsel argued the lower court’s life term was too lenient and that South Korea’s record of not carrying out executions should not by itself rule out capital punishment.
Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, saying he wanted to eliminate anti-state forces. The National Assembly voted to end the order about six hours later. In its February ruling, the lower court found troops sent to the parliamentary grounds were intended to obstruct the Assembly’s work and detain leading politicians.
Yoon has said he meant the declaration as a warning to the opposition-led parliament, which was pursuing successive impeachments of senior officials and trying to reduce the state budget.
South Korean law provides three possible penalties for a person convicted as an insurrection ringleader: death, life imprisonment or life imprisonment without labor. Amnesty International classifies South Korea as abolitionist in practice. The country last carried out an execution in December 1997.
The Seoul High Court has two more hearings planned and is expected to choose a sentencing date after they conclude, The Korea Herald reported. Yoon is due to make his final statement Thursday, Nov. 5.
