Liberal parties back death penalty for ousted president

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech in the presidential residence in Hannam-dong of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in December after the motion to impeach him passed the parliament in December 2024. (Courtesy of Yoon's office)

Liberal parties urged the court to hand down the death penalty to former President Yoon Suk Yeol for leading an insurrection that triggered a political crisis through his martial law declaration in December 2024, in line with the special counsel's demand Tuesday.

Cheong Wa Dae said in a note to reporters that it expected the court to hand down a ruling that is in line with the law, principle and people's expectations.

Calling Tuesday's request by the special counsel a "reasonable conclusion that meets the public's expectations," Rep. Park Soo-hyun, senior spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, said the verdict and sentencing expected next month would test the ability of South Korea's democracy to sustain itself.

He added that any attempt to destroy constitutional values must be met with zero tolerance, regardless of how powerful the perpetrator is.

He added that the request for the death penalty is "a declaration that the law will hold (Yoon) accountable for actions to sabotage the constitutional order and overthrow the sovereignty of the people through the use of force."

Rep. Baek Sun-hee, floor spokesperson of the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, echoed Park's statement, calling Tuesday's sentencing request "a natural consequence."

"The president has led the destruction of the constitutional value, although he has the obligation to safeguard it, which makes Yoon's crimes far more serious and vicious than those of Chun Doo-hwan, who led a military coup (and later became president)," Baek said, urging the court not to procrastinate in its ruling.

Chun's convictions included conspiring in and carrying out an insurrection, the murder of superior officers and subordinates and unlawful troop movements in relation to the coup and a massacre in Gwangju that killed hundreds of protesters.

The sentencing request is a declaration of "insurrection forces' defeat," said Rep. Son Sol of the Progressive Party, adding the court's sentencing of the death penalty as sought by the counsel would be the way to "eliminate the specter of dictatorship" in the country.

Conservative parties, including the main opposition People Power Party, did not immediately issue statements regarding the sentencing request sought against the ex-conservative President, who declared martial law when his five-year term was halfway through.