South Korea Prosecutors Again Seek Death Penalty for Yoon Suk Yeol in Insurrection Appeal

South Korean prosecutors again sought the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, telling the Seoul High Court that the life sentence he received in February for his insurrection conviction was too lenient. The request was made by a special counsel team during Yoon's appeal trial. It is a sentencing request in an appeal, not a new verdict, and the court has not yet decided the appeal.

The team is led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk. Aju Press, which romanises his name as Jo Eun-seok, reported that the hearing took place before Seoul High Court Criminal Division 12-1.

From martial law to a life sentence

Yoon declared martial law on December 3, 2024. A lower court sentenced him to life imprisonment in February 2026, eight months before this appeal hearing. That court ruled that troops deployed to the National Assembly compound over six hours were an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians. Yoon declared martial law and the order was lifted hours later by a vote in the National Assembly.

Yoon is charged as the ringleader of an insurrection. Under South Korean criminal law, the only three punishments possible for the ringleader of an insurrection are the death penalty, life imprisonment, and life imprisonment without labor.

The special counsel team said the lower court life sentence was too lenient and that the practice of not executing the death penalty should not be a reason not to hand it down. "There is no reason to hesitate to hand down the death penalty," a member of the team said, according to Yonhap. The team also said: "This was an unforgivable crime that destroyed the constitutional order and tried to turn back the clock of Korea by 40 years." Aju Press reported a similar statement from the team: "The December 3 insurrection initiated by Yoon Suk Yeol has shattered all common sense and constitutional achievements."

Yoon's defence and the other defendants

Yoon has maintained that his declaration of martial law was meant as a warning to the opposition controlled parliament amid its successive impeachments of senior government officials and attempts to cut the state budget..

Prosecutors also sought heavier sentences for the co-defendants in the case. They asked for life imprisonment for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, 30 years for former Army Intelligence Commander Noh Sang-won, and 20 years for former National Police Agency Commissioner Jo Ji-ho. They sought 15 years for former Seoul Police Chief Kim Bong-sik, 12 years for former National Assembly Security Chief Mok Hyun-tae, and 10 years each for former Third Army Corps Military Police Chief Kim Yong-gun and former National Police Agency Investigation Planning Coordinator Yoon Seung-young.

What happens next

South Korea has not carried out an execution since December 1997, and Amnesty International has categorized Korea as a death penalty abolitionist in practice. That history forms the background to the request, even as prosecutors argued that it should not stop the court from imposing the sentence.

The Seoul High Court plans to hold two additional hearings before setting a sentencing date. Yoon's final statement is scheduled for next Thursday. Aju Press reported that the court will conclude arguments over three hearings and will schedule a sentencing date after final statements from Yoon and the other defendants on November 3 and November 5.