29th October 2026 – (Seoul) South Korea’s special counsel on Thursday asked an appellate court to sentence former president Yoon Suk‑yeol to death in the insurrection case arising from his declaration of emergency martial law in 2024. The team led by independent counsel Cho Eun‑suk argued that Yoon orchestrated an unconstitutional insurrection by declaring emergency rule despite there being no war, incident or comparable national emergency.
Prosecutors said the request mirrors their original call at first instance, where the court in February imposed a life sentence. Under South Korean law, a ringleader convicted of insurrection may be punished only by capital punishment or life imprisonment, leaving no scope for a fixed‑term sentence.
The case centres on Yoon’s announcement of emergency martial law on the night of 3rd December 2024, a measure that the National Assembly revoked within hours. The Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment in April 2025, formally removing him from office. Yoon was indicted in custody in January 2025 as an alleged ringleader of the plot, and the appellate proceedings now under way will determine whether his life term stands or is replaced with the death penalty.