San Francisco Frontiers - South Korea court weighs death sentence for ex-president Yoon

Yoon abruptly declared martial law in a televised address in December 2024, saying drastic measures were needed to root out "anti-state forces" in South Korea's National Assembly.

The 65-year-old hardline conservative was later impeached, arrested and charged with a litany of crimes ranging from insurrection to obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors have sought the harshest penalty on the insurrection charges, urging the Seoul Central District Court to put Yoon on death row during hearings in January.

South Korea has an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment -- the last prisoners were executed in 1997 -- with a death sentence effectively banishing Yoon to life behind bars.

Thousands of supporters gathered outside the Seoul Central District Court ahead of the verdict, toting placards that read "Yoon Great Again" or "Drop the charge against President Yoon".

There were loud cries as a blue prison bus believed to be transporting the former president made its way into the court complex.

Police clad in neon-coloured jackets gathered in force outside the courthouse to quell any unrest triggered by the verdict.

They formed a makeshift barricade with police buses parked nose-to-tail around the courthouse.

South Korea is expected to come to a standstill when the court delivers its decision in a live broadcast at 3:00 pm (0600 GMT).

Long seen as a shining light of stable democracy in Asia, Yoon's failed bid to seize power stirred unpleasant memories of the military coups that jolted the nation between 1960 and 1980.

Yoon has been held in solitary confinement while fighting multiple criminal trials.

He has consistently denied wrongdoing, arguing he acted to "safeguard freedom" and restore constitutional order against what he called an opposition-led "legislative dictatorship".

Prosecutors accused him of leading an "insurrection" driven by a "lust for power aimed at dictatorship and long-term rule".

- Life, or death row -

Under South Korean law, only two sentences are fit for insurrection: life imprisonment or death.

A legal observer said the court would most likely sentence Yoon to life in prison.

"In rare occasions, a judge could deliver what's legally known as a 'discretionary mitigation', handing down a sentence lighter than the minimum penalty set by law if they believe it is warranted," attorney Yoo Jung-hoon told AFP.

"But Yoon has neither pleaded guilty nor expressed remorse, so it will be hard for the panel of judges to give him anything lighter than a life term."

He has already been sentenced to five years in prison on lesser charges, while a host of senior officials also face hefty prison terms.

Yoon broke into late-night TV on December 3, 2024, to deliver a shock address to the nation.

Pointing to vague threats of North Korean influence and dangerous "anti-state forces", he declared the suspension of civilian government and the start of military rule.

Martial law was lifted six hours later after lawmakers raced to the assembly building to hold an emergency vote.

Staffers barricaded the doors with office furniture to keep armed troops at bay.

The declaration triggered flash protests, sent the stock market into panic and caught key military allies such as the United States off guard.

Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee was sentenced to 20 months' jail earlier in January on unrelated charges stemming from bribes she took while first lady.

T.Martin--SFF