South Korea’s special prosecutor has requested the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of masterminding an insurrection over his brief attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.
In closing arguments at the Seoul Central District Court late on Tuesday, a prosecutor said investigators confirmed the existence of a scheme allegedly directed by Yoon and his former defence minister, Kim Yong-hyun, dating back to October 2023 designed to keep Yoon in power.
"Yoon...claims to have committed emergency martial law to protect liberal democracy, but his unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law undermined the function of the National Assembly and the Election Commission... actually destroying the liberal democratic constitutional order," the prosecutor said in final arguments.
"The defendant has not sincerely regretted the crime... or apologised properly to the people."
Yoon shook his head and appeared to chuckle when he heard the sentencing request, while some of his supporters in court also laughed or even muttered expletives, prompting the judge to call for order.
While the bid to impose martial law lasted only about six hours, it sent shockwaves through South Korea, which is Asia's fourth-largest economy, a key U.S. security ally and was long considered one of Asia's most resilient democracies.
Yoon, 65, has denied the charges. He was quoted by the Yonhap news agency as saying in court that he declared martial law to fend off the "wickedness that would ruin the nation".
He has argued it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over opposition parties' obstruction of government.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict on 19 February. The sentence prosecutors seek is not always upheld in South Korean courts.
South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1997, although death sentences remain legal. The country last handed down a death sentence in 2016.
The case has drawn comparisons with the mid-1990s trials of former presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were convicted of insurrection but later received presidential pardons.
The office of current President Lee Jae Myung said it expects the judiciary to rule in accordance with the law and public standards.
U.S. President Donald Trump said there was an "all-day negotiation" on Tuesday with Iran, characterising the talks positively while also threatening t...
Families of Moroccan migrants who crossed into the Spanish coastal exclave of Ceuta spent Tuesday searching for missing relatives or waiting anxiously...
AI agents developed by Anthropic and OpenAI carried out unauthorised online actions during cybersecurity tests, including creating fake identities to ...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 5th of August, covering the latest developments.
Tehran had made plans to strike sites in Ukraine after Kyiv attacked an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea, a senior Iranian military adviser has said. Iran refrained from taking action after Kyiv said the strike was a mistake, Mohsen Rezaei told the state IRIB TV channel.
U.S. President Donald Trump said there was an "all-day negotiation" on Tuesday with Iran, characterising the talks positively while also threatening to hit Iran "really hard" if a deal was not reached.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of August, covering the latest developments.
U.S. data analytics firm Palantir Technologies has reported a 93 per cent year-on-year jump in second-quarter revenue, even as the company faces continued criticism over its work with Israel's military and allegations linking its technology to the war in Gaza.a.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the country's ambassadors to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and several other countries. The removals came after a speech on Monday in which he said embassies would be judged on their effectiveness in securing weapons for Ukraine.
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have begun implementing a landmark 2022 border agreement, launching a land exchange to complete the demarcation of their shared frontier and pave the way for new infrastructure projects.
A new Ebola treatment centre is due to open this week in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as authorities battle the country's largest and fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record. Officials hope the new facility will ease pressure on an overstretched healthcare system.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will not withdraw from their current positions in Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed, casting further doubt on a U.S.-backed proposal aimed at ending the war.
Turkish top-tier side Trabzonspor said they have begun transfer negotiations with Mohamed Salah, with the club chairman adding they hoped to sign the Egyptian forward later this week.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment