South Korea: 10-year jail term demanded for impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol

A minimum of 10 years in jail was sought for South Korea's ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was arrested after an attempt to impose martial law in the country, on Friday (Dec 26). This was only in the first of seven criminal cases related to his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law in 2024 and other allegations stemming from his time in office. The court is expected to render a verdict as early as next month.

The martial law, imposed by Yoon, lasted only a few hours before lawmakers managed to enter the National Assembly and voted to lift his decree. The ex-president was then impeached by the opposition-controlled parliament later in December 2024 before he was formally dismissed from his position.

Park Eok-su, a senior investigator on Cho’s team, called Yoon's actions “an unprecedented obstruction of official duties” during Friday's court session. "The defendant, who was supposed to safeguard the constitution and uphold the rule of law, abused his power and hurt the public," a prosecutor said in a recorded video clip of the trial before making the sentencing request, Reuters reported. "He has not apologised or shown remorse to the public, but instead tried to shift blame to his aides," the prosecutor added.