What's next for ex-president after special prosecutor's death penalty request?

People watch news reports on the closing hearing of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's insurrection trial at Seoul Station, Tuesday. Newsis

A special prosecutor's request for the death penalty against impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his 2024 martial law fiasco has turned the spotlight to what comes next, as the court prepares to issue a ruling in the coming weeks.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Feb. 19. The closely-watched ruling will come more than a year after Yoon was indicted in January 2025 on charges of leading an insurrection.

Legal experts say an actual death sentence is unlikely and that the case is almost certain to move through a lengthy appeals process. Still, they note that the prosecution's decision to seek the death penalty carries significant symbolic weight.

In a 38-minute closing argument on Tuesday, prosecutors under special counsel Cho Eun-seok urged the court to impose the harshest punishment available. They described Yoon's abrupt martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024, not simply as an unlawful exercise of authority but as a long-planned attempt to dismantle the nation's constitutional order through the mobilization of military and police forces.

Deputy special counsel Park Eok-su argued that the episode reflects the former president's effort to concentrate power in pursuit of prolonged rule, a move that inflicted serious shock and anxiety on the public.

Park referred to past cases involving former President Chun Doo-hwan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for insurrection after using martial law to grab power in the 1980s. He said Yoon's unlawful use of emergency rule decades later, despite the precedent, warranted stricter punishment than that of the military dictator.

"The defendant has shown no remorse, which offers no grounds for leniency. The death penalty is the only appropriate option," the prosecutors said.

Under Korean law, the charges of leading an insurrection leave the court with three sentencing options: death, life imprisonment with labor, or life imprisonment without labor.

Despite the prosecution's request, whether the court will impose a death sentence remains uncertain.

Former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan, right, and Roh Tae-woo stand during their sentencing hearing at the Seoul District Court in this Aug. 26, 1996 photo. Korea Times file

The case most often cited as a point of comparison is that of Chun, who was charged with insurrection for leading the Dec. 12 military coup in 1979 and the violent suppression of the 1980 Gwangju uprising. Prosecutors in that case also sought the death penalty, but the Supreme Court ultimately upheld a sentence of life imprisonment.

Even if the court were to impose the ultimate sentence for Yoon, it would be unlikely to be carried out. Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, and Amnesty International classifies the country as "abolitionist in practice."

Also, any ruling by the trial court in February is unlikely to be final, as the case is expected to move through higher courts, including the Supreme Court — a process that could take years.

Yoon has consistently insisted that his martial law declaration falls within presidential authority, arguing that the brief emergency rule did not cause any harm to the public. During the closing arguments, he dismissed the indictment as "delusional," signaling that he is likely to appeal an unfavorable ruling.

"Even if the trial court hands down a death sentence, Yoon is more likely to end up with life imprisonment after going through the appeals process," Han In-seop, a professor emeritus at Seoul National University Law School, wrote on Facebook.

Han said the death penalty carries powerful symbolic weight by branding a defendant as "unworthy of life," but warned that it can also serve to rally supporters of political offenders. He said that life imprisonment is the harshest punishment that can be realistically enforced under Korea's legal system.

Whatever the final sentence, the possibility of a presidential pardon for Yoon cannot be ruled out. Chun, who was sentenced in August 1996, was released from prison in December 1997 after receiving a presidential pardon.

A military vehicle is surrounded by police and citizens outside the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 4, 2024, hours after then-President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon

Prosecutors also sought sentences for seven former military officers and senior police officials accused of participating in the martial law imposition.

They requested life imprisonment for Kim Yong-hyun, a former defense minister and close ally of Yoon, who is accused of being the chief architect of the martial law plot.

A 30-year prison sentence was sought for Noh Sang-won, a former defense intelligence commander. He was accused of exerting power within the military and ordered active-duty officers to seize control of the National Election Commission.

Prosecutors sought a 20-year prison sentence for Cho Ji-ho, the former commissioner general of the National Police Agency, and 15 years for Kim Bong-sik, the former head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, accusing them of ordering police forces to be mobilized in support of martial law.