In a dramatic turn of events, South Korean prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol, in the first insurrection trial of a Korean head of state in three decades. Yoon, who was formally removed from office in April 2025, is accused of attempting to declare martial law in late 2024 in a failed bid to cling to power.
Prosecutors have characterised the case as the “serious destruction of constitutional order by anti-state forces”, alleging that Yoon had “directly and fundamentally infringed upon the safety of the state and the survival and freedom of the people”. They argued that the former president began planning the operation as early as October 2023, strategically placing military personnel in key positions before the declaration.
The six-hour crisis in December 2024 ended when 190 members of parliament broke through military cordons to pass an emergency resolution, forcing Yoon to back down. He was subsequently impeached by parliament and removed from office by the constitutional court in April 2025.
Prosecutors also demanded life imprisonment with labour for Yoon’s former defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, describing him as having “moved as one body” with the former president throughout the conspiracy. They accused Yoon and his allies of preparing to torture election officials into confessing to fabricated election fraud, as well as cutting power and water to critical media outlets.
The insurrection case represents just one piece of an unprecedented legal onslaught against Yoon, with three concurrent special prosecutor probes into the former president, his wife, and the alleged cover-up of a marine’s death having indicted more than 120 people across the political and military establishment.
Beyond the insurrection charge, Yoon faces a total of eight separate criminal trials spanning allegations from abuse of power to election law violations. His wife, Kim Keon Hee, also faces her own reckoning on charges of stock manipulation and bribery.
The case marks the first insurrection-related charges against a former president since the 1996 trial of military dictators Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo for their roles in the 1979 coup and subsequent massacre in Gwangju. While South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997 and is classified as a “de facto abolitionist” state, the prosecutors’ demand for Yoon’s death penalty underscores the gravity of the charges.
As the judiciary prepares to deliver its verdict on 19 February, the nation watches with bated breath, awaiting the final chapter in the downfall of a once-powerful leader.