[Anchor]

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on trial on charges of being the ringleader of an insurrection, has faced a demand for the death penalty once again in his appellate trial. The special counsel deemed the acts as the highest level of treason, arguing 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 original ruling regarding the defendant Yoon Suk Yeol and sentence him to death.]

The special counsel team for the insurrection demanded the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is charged as the ringleader of an insurrection, during the appeals trial as well.

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 special counsel team defined the December 3 insurrection as a "self-coup for the monopoly of power," emphasizing that it was "an act of treason at the highest level that betrayed the public trust."

They further argued that the life sentence delivered by the lower court was excessively lenient.

[Lee Chan-gyu / Prosecutor, Special Counsel for Insurrection: The lower court fell short of fully uncovering the entirety of the insurrection and holding him accountable commensurate with his crimes.]

In particular, addressing the lower court's determination of an "accidental martial law" as a sentencing factor favorable to former President Yoon, the prosecution pointed out that even based on the facts recognized in the first trial, it was an insurrection prepared over a period of eight months.

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

The special counsel team also demanded a life sentence 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 the insurrection.

Following the hearing, former President Yoon's legal team held a press conference, claiming that the special counsel's sentencing demand exposed the prosecution as a political indictment driven by one-sided assertions.

[Bae Eui-chul / Attorney for Former President Yoon Suk Yeol: This sentencing demand revealed the true, ugly face of a political special counsel that has sold its conscience to political power and merely made arguments ordered of them.]

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

(Video by Yang Hyun-chul | Video Editing by Yu Mi-ra)