A South Korean special prosecutor demanded the death penalty on Thursday for ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, telling the Seoul High Court that only death could fully hold him accountable for orchestrating a rebellion through his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. The demand came in Yoon’s appeal against the life sentence the Seoul Central District Court handed down in February, after finding he had illegally mobilised troops and police to seize the legislature and arrest political opponents; investigators led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk had also appealed, arguing the life term was too light for a grave threat to democracy.
Yoon’s legal team told reporters the prosecution argument was devoid of evidence and legal logic, and said the martial law decree was meant to alert the public to the opposition led legislature’s attempts to paralyse state affairs, with no intention of establishing authoritarian rule. The High Court has yet to set a date for its verdict, and an execution would be unlikely in any case: South Korea has carried out no executions since 1997. Yoon has also appealed a separate 30 year prison term in a case accusing him of ordering drone flights in 2024 to heighten tensions with North Korea as a pretext for martial law.