Former South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue was asked to die in the second trial of the "civil unrest case"

China News Service, Seoul, October 29 (Reporter Kim Wook) On the 29th local time, South Korea's special prosecution team responsible for investigating emergency martial law incidents requested the second instance court to sentence former South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue to death on the grounds that he was suspected of leading civil unrest.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the special inspection team stated that the civil strife launched by Yun Xiyue trampled on all common sense and the achievements of South Korea's constitutional history. The coup launched by the democratically elected president shocked the entire nation. This was an unforgivable criminal act that undermined the constitutional order in an attempt to set South Korea's history back 40 years.

The special prosecution team raised objections to some of the findings of the first-instance verdict, arguing that the court of first instance made a lot of efforts to find out the truth of the case, but failed to fully understand the full picture of the civil unrest and failed to pursue accountability commensurate with the crime. The strongest argument against the death penalty is the possibility of a miscarriage of justice, but that possibility does not exist in this case. South Korea's long-term practice of not executing the death penalty cannot be used as a reason not to impose the death penalty.

According to reports, the court will hear Yin Xiyue’s final defense and Yin Xiyue’s final statement on November 5, and the date for the second instance sentencing will be announced at that time.

On the evening of December 3, 2024, the then President of South Korea, Yoon Seok-yue, issued an emergency martial law order on the grounds of eradicating "forces from the north". In the early morning of the next day, the South Korean Congress passed a resolution calling for the lifting of martial law. Since then, Yin Xiyue has been suspended, arrested, and impeached. On January 13, 2026, the special prosecution team requested the court to sentence Yin Xiyue to death for being a suspected leader of civil unrest. On February 19, the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea declared Yin Xiyue guilty of being a leader of civil strife in the first instance and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Under South Korean law, leaders of civil unrest are punishable by death or life imprisonment.