Special Counsel Seeks Death Penalty for Former President Yoon in Appeal

[Anchor]

The special counsel has demanded the death penalty in the appellate trial for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection. The prosecution argued that it was the highest level of betrayal against the public's trust and that the life sentence handed down in the first trial was too lenient.

Reporter Park Yerim has the details.

[Reporter]

[Seo Sung-kwang / Prosecutor, Special Counsel for Insurrection]: "We ask that you overturn the part of the lower court's ruling regarding the defendant Yoon Suk Yeol and sentence him to death."

The special counsel team for the insurrection has demanded the death penalty once again in the appeal trial for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces charges as the ringleader of an insurrection.

Unlike the first trial, where he let out a bitter laugh when the death penalty was demanded, former President Yoon stared straight ahead this time without any change in expression.

The prosecution defined the December 3 insurrection as a "palace coup to monopolize power," emphasizing that it was "the highest level of treasonous act that betrayed the public's trust."

They argued that the life imprisonment sentenced by the lower court was excessively light.

[Lee Chan-gyu / Prosecutor, Special Counsel for Insurrection]: "The lower court failed to fully uncover the entire truth of the insurrection and hold [him] accountable in a manner commensurate with the crime."

In particular, regarding the lower court's judgment of a "spontaneous martial law"—which was cited as a mitigating sentencing factor for former President Yoon—the prosecution pointed out that, even according to the facts recognized in the first trial, it was an insurrection prepared over eight months.

They added that the fact that the military and police exercised restraint in using physical force should not be considered a favorable factor for former President Yoon.

For former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in the first trial on charges including playing a major role in an insurrection, the special counsel team demanded life imprisonment.

Former President Yoon's legal team held a press conference, claiming that the special counsel's sentencing demand exposed it to be a political prosecution driven by one-sided assertions.

[Bae 의철 / Attorney for Former President Yoon Suk Yeol]: "This sentencing demand revealed the true, ugly face of a political special counsel that sold its conscience solely to political power and only asserted what was ordered."

The court plans to listen to former President Yoon's final statement on November 5 and set the date for the sentencing ruling.

(Camera footage by Yang Hyun-chul | Video editing by Yu Mi-ra)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.