In brief
On Thursday, the Seoul High Court heard a new death‑penalty demand from Special Counsel Cho Eun‑suk for former President Yoon Suk‑Yeol, charged with insurrection over his December 2024 martial‑law declaration. The request follows a February life‑sentence and echoes earlier prosecutorial appeals, with Yoon’s case part of a broader series of investigations. Three major news outlets present slightly different framings of the request, but all agree the prosecutor seeks capital punishment in an appeal hearing.
On Thursday, the Seoul High Court held a new appeal hearing in which Special Counsel Cho Eun‑suk requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk‑Yeol, who faces a separate life‑sentence for insurrection stemming from his short‑lived martial‑law declaration in December 2024.
In a statement at the proceedings, Yonhap reported that the pro‑death‑penalty team argued that the lower court’s life sentence was too lenient and that a misjudgment could not be tolerated, saying, “There is no reason to hesitate to hand down the death penalty. The strongest argument for objection to the death penalty is the possibility of a misjudgment just in case, but in this case, there is no room for that.” A member of the team emphasized that the declaration had aimed, they claimed, to eradicate anti‑state forces and that the troops’ deployment to the National Assembly compound proved an attempt to freeze the parliament.
Xinhua’s coverage mirrored the legal facts but presented the prosecutor’s request more matter‑of‑factly, noting that the death penalty request matched the original demand from the first‑instance trial and that the law allows only capital punishment or life imprisonment for a ringleader of an insurrection. The outlet added that Yoon’s martial‑law declaration had been revoked hours later by a National Assembly vote and highlighted that a Constitutional Court had upheld Yoon’s impeachment in April 2025.
Germany‑based Anadolu Agency offered a concise third perspective, noting that the special counsel’s request was part of a series of eight trials linked to Yoon’s martial‑law attempt, his alleged wife’s corruption, and the 2023 death of a marine officer. Anadolu also mentioned that Yoon had been formally removed from office following a unanimous Constitutional Court verdict.
The prosecutor’s request for the death penalty follows a pattern of legal developments in Yoon’s case. In January 2025, Yoon was indicted as a suspected ringleader of insurrection and remained detained while the case proceeds. In February 2025, a lower court imposed a life‑sentence for the insurrection charge, a decision that the Supreme Court’s Seoul High Court will reassess following the latest appeal. The appellate court has scheduled two further hearings before setting a final sentencing date, with Yoon’s final statement due next Thursday.
Amnesty International has described South Korea as a de‑facto death‑penalty abolitionist, noting that capital punishment has not been carried out since December 1997. Nonetheless, criminal law in South Korea reserves the death penalty as a possible sentence for the most severe insurrection crimes. The current appeal is the latest in an ongoing legal saga that sees Yoon fighting multiple charges stemming from his time in office.
Regardless of which outlet frames the push for the death penalty, the three reports converge on the fact that the special counsel is demanding capital punishment in the appellate trial, that the Seoul High Court will consider the request before setting a sentence, and that Yoon’s case remains highly politicized in a nation still grappling with the legacy of martial law and constitutional order.
