South Korean prosecutors have demanded the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed December 2024 martial law declaration. They described the case as a “serious destruction of constitutional order by anti-state forces.” Prosecutors told the Seoul central district court that Yoon had “directly and fundamentally infringed upon the safety of the state and the survival and freedom of the people.” Under South Korean law, insurrection leaders face only three sentences: death penalty, life imprisonment with labour, or life imprisonment without labour. A verdict is expected by mid-February. Former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun faces life imprisonment with labour. Prosecutors said he “moved as one body” with Yoon during the plot. On December 3, 2024, Yoon deployed troops to the national assembly to stop lawmakers from voting to lift martial law. The crisis lasted six hours before 190 MPs broke through military lines and passed an emergency resolution, forcing Yoon to give up the attempt. Yoon was impeached on December 14 and removed by the constitutional court in April 2025. A snap election brought rival Lee Jae Myung to power. Prosecutors claim Yoon planned the operation from before October 2023, aiming to “monopolise power through long-term rule.” He placed military personnel in key positions and prepared to torture election officials to admit fake fraud, even aiming to cut power and water to important media. Prosecutors condemned senior officials who stayed loyal to Yoon, putting people’s lives and freedom at risk. They noted Yoon has shown no remorse and blames the opposition. Some of his supporters violently protested after his arrest. Prosecutors said Yoon, a former prosecutor general, knew the martial law declaration was unconstitutional. The presidential office said the judiciary will act by the law and public expectations. This trial is the first insurrection case against a former Korean president since the 1996 trial of military dictators Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo. Although Chun was sentenced to death and Roh to life, their sentences were later reduced. South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997 and is seen as a “de facto abolitionist” state. Yoon was the first sitting Korean president arrested in January 2025. He was briefly freed in March but re-arrested in July and jailed since. Alongside the insurrection charge, Yoon faces eight other trials including abuse of power and election crimes. Prosecutors also accuse Yoon of ordering drone flights into Pyongyang airspace in late 2024 to provoke North Korea for martial law justification. His wife, Kim Keon Hee, faces separate charges including stock manipulation and bribery with a 15-year sentence demand. Yoon’s first trial verdict on obstruction of arrest will be announced on January 16, with prosecutors seeking 10 years imprisonment.