In brief
The Seoul High Court is hearing a new death‑penalty request from chief prosecutor Cho Eun‑suk against former President Yoon Suk‑Yeol over his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024. Both Yonhap and Xinhua report similar facts but differ slightly in emphasis and detail. The request follows a February life‑sentence and raises questions about South Korea’s de facto abolition of executions.
On Thursday, the Seoul High Court heard a fresh plea for the death penalty from special counsel Cho Eun‑suk against former President Yoon Suk‑Yeol, following his failed attempt to declare martial law in December 2024. The request, the latest in a series of legal actions against Yoon, echoes a life‑sentence handed by a lower court in February, and underscores the seriousness continuing prosecutors attribute to the case.
Yonhap reports that Cho Eun‑suk’s team stressed the gravity of Yoon’s actions, arguing that the six‑hour martial‑law declaration—during which troops were deployed to the National Assembly—constituted an attempt to paralyze parliament and arrest key politicians. The outlet noted that Yoon maintained the declaration was a warning to an opposition‑controlled parliament, while the prosecution deemed it an unforgivable threat to the constitutional order.
Xinhua’s coverage similarly states that the special counsel team sought the death penalty in the appellate trial, citing Yoon’s orchestration of the insurrection by declaring an unconstitutional emergency martial law with no war or analogous national emergency. The Chinese agency emphasizes that under criminal law, the ringleader of an insurrection can receive only capital punishment or life imprisonment.
Both outlets agree that the plea follows a February ruling that Yoon received a life sentence, and each notes the Seoul High Court will hold two additional hearings before setting a final sentencing date. The court’s schedule places Yoon’s final statement in the pipeline for next Thursday.
In addition, Yonhap mentions that Amnesty International has labeled South Korea a “death‑penalty abolitionist in practice,” noting the country has not carried out executions since December 1997. This detail highlights the broader debate over capital punishment within South Korea, a point not explicitly raised in Xinhua’s report.
"There is no reason to hesitate to hand down the death penalty," a member of the team said.
As the appellate trial proceeds, both the prosecution’s insistence on capital punishment and Yoon’s defense of his martial‑law declaration continue to dissect the evolving legal and constitutional discourse surrounding the former president’s case.
