US EditionSouth Korea braces for verdict in ex‑President Yoon's insurrection trial
Prosecutors seek death penalty for Yoon Suk Yeol over his 2024 martial law decree; South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, reflecting legal and political complexities.
- Seoul Central District Court prepares to deliver a verdict Thursday in the trial of Yoon Suk Yeol, impeached former president, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty.
- Yoon's Dec. 3, 2024 decree prompted mass protests and a constitutional standoff as soldiers and police surrounded the National Assembly while lawmakers scaled walls, voted to reverse the decree, and Yoon lifted the order six hours later.
- Two of Yoon's top aides have been convicted in cases tied to the decree, while Han Duck-soo, former prime minister, got 23 years last month and Lee Sang-min, former interior minister, was sentenced last week to seven years.
- Democracy advocates say a conviction would reaffirm the rule of law, with experts noting it would uphold South Korea's democratic system and a death sentence would symbolize accountability for the attempted palace coup.
- The trial echoes Chun Doo-hwan's 1996 sentencing in Courtroom 417, where about 57 inmates remain on death row, prompting debate over abolition, as Cha noted `On the premise of introducing life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, abolishing the death penalty may be a way to better align the law with reality`.
20 Articles
20 Articles
In 2024 Yoon surprisingly imposed martial law - did he want to destroy the constitutional order of South Korea? Now the verdict is given - the prosecutor's office demands the death penalty.
ABS-CBN
South Korea court weighs death sentence for ex-president Yoon
Under South Korean law, only two sentences are fit for insurrection: life imprisonment or death.
연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency
Naver(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Seo Hye-rim and Oh Gyu-jin = The Democratic Party of Korea is scheduled to hold the first trial on former President Yoon Seok-yeol's charges of being the leader of a rebellion on the afternoon of the 19th...
On December 3, 2024, South Korea briefly seemed on the verge of becoming a dictatorship. At the same time, the reactions to the coup demonstrate the strength of South Korean democracy, experts say.
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