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Prosecutors say Yoon, who was impeached over a failed 2024 martial law declaration, threatened ‘constitutional order’.

South Korean prosecutors have asked for ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol to face the death penalty over his failed attempt to impose martial law in 2024.

Special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk’s team made the request to the Seoul Central District Court during court on Tuesday, accusing Yoon of threatening the “liberal democratic constitutional order” with his “self-coup”.

“The greatest victims of the insurrection in this case are the people of this country,” said the prosecutors. “There are no mitigating circumstances to be considered in sentencing, and instead, a severe punishment must be imposed.”

Yoon plunged South Korea into a crisis with his martial law declaration in December 2024, prompting protesters and lawmakers to swarm parliament to force a vote against the measure.

The decree was quickly declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, and Yoon was subsequently impeached, removed from office and jailed.

Yoon’s criminal trial for insurrection, abuse of power, and other offences linked to the martial declaration ended on Tuesday after 11 hours of proceedings.

The court is expected to deliver a verdict on the case on February 19, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Yoon says investigations ‘frenzied’

The former president has denied the charges against him, arguing that he was acting within his authority to declare martial law in response to what he described as opposition parties’ obstruction of government.

Speaking in court Tuesday, Yoon criticised investigations into the rebellion charges as “frenzied” and mired in “manipulation” and “distortion.”

If found guilty, Yoon will become the third South Korean president convicted of insurrection, following two ex-military leaders convicted over their roles in the 1979 coup.

But even if Yoon is handed a death sentence, it is unlikely to be implemented, as South Korea has observed an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1997.

Yoon also faces several other trials over various criminal charges related to the martial law attempt and other scandals during his time in office.

A Seoul court is expected to deliver a verdict on Friday on an obstruction of justice case, which could see Yoon facing 10 years in prison.

And he faces a trial on charges of aiding the enemy over allegations he ordered drone flights over North Korea to justify his martial law declaration.

The office of President Lee Jae Myung, who ‍was elected after Yoon was removed from office, said in a statement that it “believes the judiciary will rule … in accordance with the law, principles, and public standards.”

Bolsonaro’s operation addressed a painful double hernia; doctors anticipate five to seven days of hospitalisation.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a prison sentence for an attempted coup, underwent a “successful” surgery for an inguinal hernia, his wife has said.

The 70-year-old former leader left prison on Wednesday for the first time since late November to undergo the procedure on Thursday at the DF Star Hospital in Brasilia.

“Successful surgery completed, without complications. Now we wait for him to wake up from anaesthesia,” his wife Michelle announced in an Instagram post.

Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year term since November for an attempted coup. He was granted court permission to leave prison after federal police doctors confirmed that he needed the procedure.

Doctors say Bolsonaro’s double hernia causes him pain. The former leader, who was in power between 2019 and 2022, has gone through several other surgeries since he was stabbed in the abdomen during a campaign rally in 2018. He was also diagnosed with skin cancer recently.

Doctors for the far-right president from 2019 to 2022 anticipated that his hospitalisation would last between five and seven more days.

The surgery was to repair an inguinal hernia – a protrusion in the groin area due to a tear in the abdominal muscles.

“It is a complex surgery,” Dr Claudio Birolini said on Wednesday. “But it is a standardised … scheduled surgery, so we expect the procedure to be carried out without major complications.”

After the operation, doctors are to assess whether Bolsonaro can undergo an additional procedure: blockage of the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm, for recurrent hiccups, Birolini said.

Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to prison in September after he was found guilty of having led a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office and to retain power.

Bolsonaro has maintained his innocence, declaring he was a victim of political persecution.

He has been confined to a small room with a minibar, air conditioning and a television at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia.

Succession

Early on Thursday, his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, told reporters before the surgery that his father had written a letter confirming he had appointed him as the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate in next year’s election. Flavio announced on December 5 that he would challenge Lula, who is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, as the party’s candidate.

The senator read the letter to journalists, and his office released a reproduction of it to the media.

“He represents the continuation of the path of prosperity that I began well before becoming president, as I believe we must restore the responsibility of leading Brazil with justice, resolve and loyalty to the aspirations of the Brazilian people,” Bolsonaro said in the handwritten letter, dated Thursday.

According to Flavio, the letter sought to clarify any “doubt” about his father’s support for his presidential bid.

“Many people say they had not heard it from his own mouth or had not seen a letter signed by him. I believe this clears up any shadow of doubt,” he said after reading the letter.

The former president and several of his allies were convicted by a panel of Supreme Court justices for attempting to overthrow Brazil’s democratic system following his 2022 election defeat.

Ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday apologized to key military commanders who are standing trial for their involvement in his failed martial law bid, defending their action as the result of compliance with his orders.

Yoon made the remarks at a martial law trial against the commanders at the military court in central Seoul, which he attended as a witness. Defendants included Kwak Jong-keun, former chief of the Army Special Warfare Command; Yeo In-hyung, former head of the Defense Counterintelligence Command; and Lee Jin-woo, former head of the Capital Defense Command.

“It is pitiful to see senior military and police officials whom I know appear at the court,” Yoon said.

“I feel very sorry as they are people who did what they have to do upon my decision,” he said, adding he prayed late into the night after returning to the detention center following trials.

During Thursday’s trial, Yoon reiterated that he had no intention of maintaining martial law for an extended period and that the declaration was aimed only at exposing the “blatant” behavior of the then main opposition party.

“The martial law was imposed to raise an alarm bell to the public on the country’s perilous situation,” the former president said. “I was thinking that it would last half a day, or a day at the most.”

Yoon said he did not instruct any official, other than former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, to review or prepare for the imposition of martial law.

The then opposition party’s drive to impeach the state auditor chief on the night before the martial law imposition became the “decisive trigger” for him to instruct for preparations for martial law, he claimed.

Speaking on a recent reshuffle of officials dispatched to the Defense Counterintelligence Command, Yoon said institutions pivotal to national security should not be neutralized due to their involvement in the martial law bid.

Yoon’s appearance at the military court, located within the defense ministry compound that also houses the presidential office, marked his first visit to his former office compound in about a year. It also came on his 65th birthday.

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