Yoon, 65, said in his final 90-minute statement to the court that the president’s right to call for a state of emergency cannot constitute an insurrection.
South Korea’s special council on Jan. 13 demanded the death penalty for the country’s former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his failed imposition of martial law in December 2024.
A member of special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team made the request during the final hearing of Yoon’s trial at Seoul Central District Court.
The former president declared martial law for the purpose of remaining in power for a long time, assistant special counsel Park Eok-su said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
“The nature of the crime is serious as he mobilized physical resources that should have been used only in the interest of the national collective,” Park said.
Yoon, 65, denies all charges. In his final 90-minute statement to the court, he said it was within presidential powers to call for a state of emergency and that doing so cannot constitute an insurrection.
“It was not a military dictatorship that suppresses citizens, but an effort to safeguard freedom and sovereignty, and revive the constitutional order,” Yoon said, according to Yonhap.
Yoon, a conservative, is on trial for insurrection after he attempted to impose martial law on Dec. 3, 2024. The former president backed down six hours later, following public protests and in the face of parliamentary opposition.
At the time, Yoon said he was aiming to protect the constitution because the opposition, which controlled Parliament, was sympathetic toward communists and North Korea.
He was indicted in January 2025 on charges of leading an insurrection, and on April 4, 2025, he was removed from office following his impeachment. Lee Jae Myung, a former Democratic Party of Korea leader who led the impeachment bid against Yoon, won the presidency in the June 2025 snap election.
Death Sentence
The court is expected to return a verdict on the rebellion charges on Feb. 19.
If convicted, the charges carry either a sentence of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Judges also have some leeway and can commute the sentence to as little as 10 years if they choose.
The last death sentence in South Korea was handed down in 2016, but the country has not executed anyone since 1997, after President Kim Dae-jung introduced a moratorium on executions in 1998.
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