South Korean prosecutors have sought the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of leading a rebellion through his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024.
According to the Seoul Central District Court, the request was made on Tuesday by the legal team of independent counsel Cho Eun-suk during a hearing. The rebellion charge is the most serious among several criminal cases Yoon now faces.
Yoon was removed from office in April last year following widespread backlash over the martial law decree, which lawmakers swiftly overturned in an overnight vote. Members of his own party joined the opposition to block the order.
Defending his actions, Yoon told the court the move was a “desperate but peaceful” effort to warn the public about what he called threats posed by the opposition Democratic Party. He accused the opposition-led parliament of paralysing governance and undermining state authority, at times branding lawmakers as “anti-state forces.”
The court is expected to deliver its verdict in February, a decision that could mark a historic moment in South Korea’s political and legal landscape.
