South Korean court weighs death sentence for ex-president Yoon over insurrection charges

A South Korean court will rule Thursday on insurrection charges against ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, weighing whether he should be sentenced to death for his failed bid to impose military rule.

Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised address in December 2024, saying drastic measures were needed to root out “anti-state forces”.

The 65-year-old hardline conservative was later impeached, arrested and charged with a litany of crimes ranging from insurrection to obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors have sought the harshest penalty on the insurrection charges, urging the Seoul Central District Court to put Yoon on death row during hearings in January.

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South Korea has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment – the last prisoners were executed in 1997 – with a death sentence effectively banishing Yoon to life behind bars.

Long seen as a shining light of stable democracy in Asia, Yoon’s failed bid to seize power stirred unpleasant memories of the military coups that jolted the nation between 1960 and 1980.

Millions of South Koreans are expected to come to a standstill when the court delivers its verdict in a live broadcast at 3pm (0600 GMT).

Yoon has been held in solitary confinement while fighting multiple criminal trials.

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He has consistently denied wrongdoing, arguing he acted to “safeguard freedom” and restore constitutional order against what he called an opposition-led “legislative dictatorship”.

Prosecutors accused him of leading an “insurrection” driven by a “lust for power aimed at dictatorship and long-term rule”.

Life, or death row

Under South Korean law, only two sentences are fit for insurrection: life imprisonment or death.

A legal observer said the court would most likely sentence Yoon to life in prison.

“In rare occasions, a judge could deliver what’s legally known as a ‘discretionary mitigation’, handing down a sentence lighter than the minimum penalty set by law if they believe it is warranted,” attorney Yoo Jung-hoon told AFP.

“But Yoon has neither pleaded guilty nor expressed remorse, so it will be hard for the panel of judges to give him anything lighter than a life term.”

He has already been sentenced to five years in prison on lesser charges, while a host of senior officials also face hefty prison terms.

Yoon broke into late-night TV on December 3, 2024, to deliver a shock address to the nation.

Pointing to vague threats of North Korean influence and dangerous “anti-state forces”, he declared the suspension of civilian government and the start of military rule.

Martial law was lifted six hours later after lawmakers raced to the assembly building to hold an emergency vote.

Staffers barricaded the doors with office furniture to keep armed troops at bay.

The declaration triggered flash protests, sent the stock market into panic and caught key military allies such as the United States off guard.

Yoon’s wife Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to 20 months’ jail earlier in January on unrelated charges stemming from bribes she took while first lady.