South Korean Prosecutors Ask for the Death Penalty for Former President Yoon Suk-yeol in His Martial Law Appeal
Breitbart says special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk argued at the Seoul High Court that only capital punishment fits the December 2024 martial law case. Yoon is already serving a life sentence and denies planning to seize power.
South Korea's special prosecutor wants the former conservative president put to death, Breitbart reports.
The demand. On Thursday, special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk asked for the death penalty for Yoon Suk-yeol, the president who declared martial law in December 2024. Yoon, 65, was sentenced to life in prison for "leading an insurrection" in February 2026 and has appealed to the Seoul High Court. Cho argued that only the death penalty can hold him fully accountable for "orchestrating a rebellion." The prosecution team also sought capital punishment at his first trial and said there is "no reason to hesitate," citing evidence it says shows Yoon planned the martial law move carefully.
What happened in 2024. Yoon declared martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, saying it was needed to "protect the Republic of Korea from the threats of North Korean communist forces" that he said had paralyzed the government. He called the opposition in the National Assembly a "hotbed of criminals." It lasted about six hours, until lawmakers got past a ring of soldiers, formed a quorum and voted to cancel the decree. He was impeached ten days later and removed from office in April 2025.
The arguments. Prosecutors say he deserves no leniency for "restrained" behavior during the "self-coup," because he was prepared to use extreme force and was stopped only when some police and military officers disobeyed. Yoon's lawyers say he was trying to "raise awareness" of corruption and sedition among political opponents and never meant to rule as an authoritarian.
The odds. Breitbart's John Hayward writes that an execution looks unlikely: the death penalty remains law in South Korea, but the last executions were in 1997.
A second case. Yoon has also appealed a 30-year sentence handed down in June over a drone incursion into North Korea in October 2024, allegedly meant to raise tensions ahead of martial law. His lawyers say he did not personally order it and that it answered North Korean trash balloons.
Note for readers: the appeals court has not ruled, and a prosecutor's request is not a sentence. Breitbart's assessment of the odds of execution is the writer's view.