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Prosecutors seek death penalty for former South Korean president

2026-01-14 07:34:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Prosecutors have demanded that former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol be sentenced to death if he is found guilty of his failed attempt to impose martial law.

A court in Seoul heard closing arguments in Yoon's trial, in which he was charged with "leading an insurrection." The charge stemmed from Yoon's attempt in December 2024 to impose military rule in South Korea — an act that lasted only a few hours but plunged the country into political turmoil.

Yoon has denied the charges against him, arguing that martial law was a symbolic gesture to draw public attention to the opposition party's wrongdoings. Leading an insurrection - the most serious charge against Yoon - carries a sentence of death or life in prison. Under South Korean law, prosecutors had to ask the judge for either sentence.

South Korea has not executed anyone in nearly 30 years. In 1996, former military dictator Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death for seizing power in a 1979 military coup, although his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.

Prosecutors in Yoon's case argue that while no one was killed in his attempt to impose martial law, Yoon's intent was no less violent. Closing their arguments at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday, prosecutors said the former president was motivated by a "lust for power that aimed for dictatorship and long-term rule."

Prosecutors had called to the dock the military commander who testified that Yoon ordered the arrest of lawmakers during his failed coup. Yoon's trial for sedition has been joined by that of two other senior figures in his administration, former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun and former police chief Cho Ji-ho. Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment for Kim and 20 years in prison for Cho for carrying out Yoon's illegal orders. The court is expected to deliver its verdict in February. The sentences sought by prosecutors are not always upheld in South Korean courts. /CNA