The key facts

  • Special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk again requested the death penalty for Yoon Suk Yeol at the appeal at the Seoul High Court
  • In February the former president was sentenced to life imprisonment for insurrection over the attempt to impose martial law in December 2024
  • Yoon is a defendant in a total of eight court proceedings; he was removed from office in April 2025

Appeal hearing in the insurrection case

The special prosecution team on Thursday again demanded the death penalty for former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol at the appeal hearing on insurrection charges related to his failed attempt to impose martial law, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing local media and Yonhap News Agency.

Course of the case

The request for the death penalty was filed by the team led by special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk at the Seoul High Court, where Yoon is appealing the life sentence handed down to him. The sentence was imposed in February for leading an insurrection through the attempt to impose martial law in December 2024: it lasted only a few hours and was blocked and overturned by the National Assembly. The prosecution first demanded the death penalty in January this year.

Context

Yoon Suk Yeol is a defendant in a total of eight court proceedings related to the martial law attempt, his wife's alleged corruption, and the death of a Marine in 2023. He was formally removed from the presidency in April 2025 after the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment over the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, which triggered an early presidential election.