A special counsel team has requested a ten‑year prison term for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, indicted on charges related to his imposition of martial law in December 2024.

During the final hearing at the Seoul Central District Court on Friday, special counsel Cho Eun‑seok’s team requested the sentence as Yoon faces charges including abuse of power and obstruction of the execution of official duties.

The team sought five years for allegedly obstructing investigators who attempted to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon in January.

Cho's team also requested a three‑year term for infringing on Cabinet members’ deliberation and decision‑making rights, spreading false information to foreign media and destroying evidence related to encrypted phones, along with an additional two years for drafting and destroying a revised declaration of martial law.

Prosecutors argued that Yoon’s actions constituted grave offenses, saying he used state institutions to conceal and justify his own wrongdoing and severely undermined the country's legal order.

This is the first sentencing request by a special counsel among the seven criminal trials Yoon is currently facing.

The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on January 16.