South Korean prosecutors seek death sentence in Yoon martial law case

South Korean prosecutors are again seeking the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was convicted of leading an insurrection over his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024. At Thursday’s appeal hearing at the Seoul High Court, special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk’s team argued that Yoon’s actions threatened democracy and that the halt in executions since 1997 should not prevent a death sentence. A lower court sentenced him to life imprisonment in February; his lawyers say he intended to warn an opposition-controlled parliament, not establish authoritarian rule. Yoon deployed soldiers and police to the National Assembly, but lawmakers rejected the measure and the government withdrew it about six hours after it was announced.