“No leniency for insurrectionists” ... 65 civic groups urge stiff sentence for Yoon in appeal

[Financial News] Ahead of the appeal verdict in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s case on the charge of leading an insurrection, civil society groups called on the judiciary to impose a stiff sentence. They stressed that strict judicial judgment was needed to prevent another insurrection, saying sentence reductions and acquittals had recently been handed down in a series of insurrection-related trials.
On the 11th, 65 civil society groups from across the country, including People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy and Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun), held a “Joint Civil Society Press Conference Calling for a Stiff Sentence in Yoon Suk Yeol’s Appeal” outside the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu and demanded severe punishment for former President Yoon and defendants in major insurrection cases.
Jin Young-jong, co-chair of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, criticized the slow progress, saying, “Over the past two years, the tasks of addressing the insurrection and preventing its recurrence, entrusted to the political establishment and the judiciary, have made little headway. Sentence reductions and acquittals based on legal reasoning that is difficult to accept continue to be handed down for insurrectionists who undermined democracy and the rule of law.”
The groups took issue with sentence reductions and acquittals in some recent insurrection-related trials. They said military personnel deployed to the National Election Commission during emergency martial law were acquitted on grounds including that they were unaware of the illegality and the aim of subverting the constitutional order, and that the sentences of key cabinet members were also reduced on appeal.
They said it was inappropriate, given the gravity of the Dec. 3 martial law declaration, to consider long public service, being a first-time offender, or the fact that unlawful orders were not actually carried out as mitigating factors.
Kang Moon-dae, chair of Minbyun, expressed concern, saying, “Yoon Suk Yeol and key participants in the insurrection still show no remorse. They deny the illegality of the Dec. 3 insurrection and repeat claims that they were unaware of the aim of subverting the constitutional order or of the martial law’s unconstitutionality and illegality. If they are not severely punished, other people in power and politicized military officers may again abuse state power and attempt to overthrow the democratic system.”
In their joint press conference statement, the groups also called for strict judgment by the judiciary, saying, “The Constitutional Court has already unanimously removed Yoon Suk Yeol from office, and lower-court trials of other people involved in the insurrection have repeatedly confirmed that the Dec. 3 martial law declaration was, in substance, a riot aimed at subverting the constitutional order.”
Former President Yoon was indicted on charges of declaring emergency martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, and staging an insurrection by deploying troops to the National Assembly and other locations with the aim of subverting the constitutional order. In February this year, the first-instance court ruled that deploying troops to the National Assembly and related acts were carried out with the aim of subverting the constitutional order and amounted to a riot—the elements required for the crime of insurrection—and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 12-1, comprising High Court Judges Lee Seung-cheol, Jo Jin-gu, and Kim Mina, held a final hearing on the 5th and concluded arguments in the cases involving former President Yoon’s charge of leading an insurrection and former Minister Kim and others’ charge of performing key roles in an insurrection.
The Special Prosecutor’s Team for Insurrection (Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok) sought the death penalty for former President Yoon, as it had at the first trial. The team described Yoon’s actions as the highest form of treason, betraying the public’s trust, and called for severe punishment.
By contrast, in a final statement lasting 1 hour and 19 minutes, former President Yoon completely denied the charges, saying he had neither the aim of subverting the constitutional order nor the intention to start a riot.
The appeal verdicts for former President Yoon and defendants in major insurrection cases are scheduled for January 26 next year.
[email protected] Lee Dong-hyeok Reporter