South Korea: This week marks the end of former President Yoon’s rebellion trial

South Korea: This week marks the end of South Korean former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s trial on allegations of inciting an uprising by imposing martial rule for a brief period of time. There is intense curiosity about the severity of his sentence, which might include the death penalty.

According to legal authorities, the insurrection trial of Yoon, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, former National Police Agency head Cho Ji-ho, and five others will take place in the Seoul Central District Court on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Their two cases were combined with Yoon’s last week. Kim, Cho, and the five others are accused of being instrumental in an uprising related to the attempt to impose martial rule in December 2024.

Before concluding its deliberations between Wednesday and Friday, the court is expected to finish interrogating the former defense minister on Monday and Tuesday.

The last hearings are anticipated to go late into the night due to the sheer number of defendants; however, in the instance of former police chief Cho, who is fighting blood cancer, his final arguments may be rescheduled until January 22.

According to legal authorities, the court will sentence the defendant in early February.

The team led by special attorney Cho Eun-suk is expected to ask for one of the three legal punishments for the insurgent commander in Yoon’s case: the death sentence, life in prison, or life in prison without the need to do forced labor.

Yoon is accused of planning a riot with the previous defense minister and others in order to violate the Constitution by unlawfully imposing martial rule in the absence of a war or other comparable national emergency.

He is specifically accused of ordering the arrest and custody of the speaker of the National Assembly as well as the then-leaders of the major opposition and governing parties, as well as mobilizing military and police to blockade the National Assembly grounds and stop parliamentarians from overriding his order.

According to the Yonhap news agency, Yoon was accused with physical detention in January of last year, making him the first sitting president to do so.

After a court ruling invalidated his imprisonment, he was freed in March; nevertheless, he was arrested again in July on new accusations pertaining to his effort to impose martial rule.