South Korea seeks death penalty for former president Yoon

South Korean prosecutors have called for the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024. This was reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap. “The special prosecutors requested the death penalty for former President Yoon as ‘leader of the insurrection'”Yonhap said at the final hearing of his insurrection trial in Seoul.

The request was made on the final day of the former president’s insurrection trial at the Seoul Central District Court. It is unlikely that the maximum sentence will be applied to the former president, given that in the country There is a moratorium on capital executions for almost 40 years.

According to Yonhap, the ruling is expected to be issued in early February. The team of prosecutors accused Yoon of declaring martial law “allo aim to stay in power for a long time through control of the judicial and legislative power” and underlined the gravity of his actions for having mobilized resources that should have been destined for the public good, the South Korean agency explained.

The current South Korean government responded to the news by saying that it expects the South Korean judiciary to issue a sentence “in accordance with the law, principles and public expectations,” in a statement reported by Yonhap. Yoon faces charges including insurrection, abuse of power, obstruction of justice, aiding and abetting the enemy and perjury in connection with martial law that the president has justified as a way to protect the nation from “anti-state forces.”