South Korean prosecutors seek death penalty for Yoon in martial law case



Briefings South Korean prosecutors seek death penalty for Yoon in martial law case Prosecutors use maximum sentence to close ambiguity around emergency powers despite low execution likelihood KOREA PROJanuary 14, 2026 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Then-candidate Yoon Suk-yeol campaigns for South Korea's presidency, March 7, 2022 \| Image: People Power Party, edited by Korea Pro South Korean special prosecutors on Tuesday requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of leading an insurrection through his Dec. 3, 2024 martial law decree. The request was made during closing arguments at the Seoul Central District Court, where prosecutors characterized the case as a grave destruction of constitutional order and asked the court to impose the maximum penalty under the law. A verdict is expected in February. Prosecutors also sought life imprisonment for former defense minister Kim Yong-hyunand lengthy prison terms for senior police officials involved in enforcing martial law, drawing a © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. LATEST ANALYSIS 01AI storage boom gives South Korea battery makers an EV overcapacity lifeline 02South Korea’s Mexico strategy runs into the hard limits of USMCA politics 03Preschool test ban forces South Korea’s English hagwons to rethink placement 04Lee Jae Myung’s Wall Street pitch tests South Korea’s capital market credibility 05US midterm clock raises stakes for South Korea’s $200 billion investment talks 06Lee’s Hormuz red line tests South Korea’s leverage in $350 billion US talks 07South Korea’s AI data center boom is colliding with the true cost of power 08Why South Korea cannot rebalance growth without stronger regional clusters

Briefings

South Korean prosecutors seek death penalty for Yoon in martial law case

Prosecutors use maximum sentence to close ambiguity around emergency powers despite low execution likelihood

KOREA PROJanuary 14, 2026

South Korean prosecutors seek death penalty for Yoon in martial law case

Then-candidate Yoon Suk-yeol campaigns for South Korea's presidency, March 7, 2022 | Image: People Power Party, edited by Korea Pro

South Korean special prosecutors on Tuesday requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of leading an insurrection through his Dec. 3, 2024 martial law decree. The request was made during closing arguments at the Seoul Central District Court, where prosecutors characterized the case as a grave destruction of constitutional order and asked the court to impose the maximum penalty under the law. A verdict is expected in February.

Prosecutors also sought life imprisonment for former defense minister Kim Yong-hyunand lengthy prison terms for senior police officials involved in enforcing martial law, drawing a

South Korean prosecutors seek death penalty for Yoon in martial law case

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