Anchor: Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is accused of leading an insurrection by declaring martial law on December 3, 2024. The special counsel team requested the sentence Tuesday night during the final hearing in Yoon’s insurrection trial at the Seoul Central District Court. 
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: In seeking the death penalty for ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, deputy special counsel Park Eok-su told the court that only the maximum punishment is enough to prove the nation can protect its constitutional order.

[Sound bite: Deputy special counsel Park Eok-su (Korean-English)]
“The defendant shows no remorse. There are no mitigating circumstances to consider in sentencing. On the contrary, a severe punishment is warranted. Therefore, imposing the minimum sentence allowed by law is inappropriate. The only sentence other than the minimum allowed by law is the death penalty. Accordingly, we request that the court sentence the defendant to death.”

It is one of four trials in which Yoon is a defendant in connection with his failed martial law bid in December 2024, and it will determine if he was the ringleader of an insurrection.

Yoon delivered his own closing argument in a speech that lasted over an hour, saying the prosecution was framing a few hours of martial law as an insurrection.

Yoon reiterated that his martial law action was an appeal to the people to rein in the opposition party, which used its majority in parliament to impeach ranking officials and cut budgets in a manner the former president considered destructive.

South Korea has not carried out an execution since December 1997 and is considered a “de facto abolitionist” state. 

Acknowledging that fact, the deputy special counsel argued that the death penalty still functions as a way for the community to demonstrate its resolve to combat crime and maintain trust in the judicial process.

Sitting in the defendant’s seat, former President Yoon directed a faint smile toward the special prosecutor upon hearing the sentencing recommendation. 

Leading an insurrection is a crime that carries the death penalty, life imprisonment with labor, or life imprisonment without labor.

The prosecution is seeking life imprisonment for former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who is charged with playing a major role in an insurrection.

The final hearing in their trial wrapped up around 2:30 Wednesday morning after about 17 hours. 

The Seoul Central District Court will render its verdicts for Yoon and seven other defendants on February 19.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.