DP leader slams lack of death penalty in Yoon's martial law sentencing

Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae on Thursday denounced a court's decision to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection, arguing that the judges should have imposed the death penalty.

Democratic Party (DP) leader Jung Chung-rae, right, speaks during an emergency DP Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 19. [YONHAP]

Democratic Party (DP) leader Jung Chung-rae on Thursday denounced a court's decision to sentence former President Yoon Suk Yeol to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection, arguing that the judges should have imposed the death penalty.

Jung made the remarks during an emergency DP Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon, immediately after the ruling, calling the sentence “a very inadequate judgment that runs counter to the public’s sense of justice.”

“The statutory penalty for leading an insurrection ranges only from life imprisonment to the death penalty,” Jung said. “This is the minimum sentence they could have handed down.”

“I find the ruling by the panel presided over by Judge Ji Gwi-yeon extremely regrettable,” Rep. Jung said. “This is a judgment that turned its back on the people who stood up against emergency martial law and a clear setback for the people’s revolution of light.”

A “revolution of light” is a common phrase referring to Koreans’ defiance and protest against the martial law declaration.

“The Dec. 3 insurrection was carried out by a president elected by the people and his followers, and by its nature was an insurrection from above,” Jung said, citing a previous ruling in a separate case involving former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

He added that the earlier ruling made clear that “committing insurrection while in office as a sitting president causes far greater damage than the insurrection committed by former President Chun Doo Hwan, who was not in the presidency at the time.”

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on Feb. 19. Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading an insurrection in relation to the Dec. 3, 2024, declaration of emergency martial law. [SEOUL CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT]

Regarding the court’s reference to factors such as the degree of planning, the failed outcome of the attempt and Yoon’s age in determining the sentence, Jung said that “Such logic was already rejected by other courts’ panels,” adding that it was deeply regrettable that the panel led by Judge Ji reached a different conclusion.

“Yoon stood in the very same courtroom where Chun was sentenced to death 30 years ago,” Jung said. “The judiciary’s mistaken precedent of commuting Chun’s sentence has come back like a boomerang and returned as another tragedy today.”

He argued that “although the insurrection committed by a sitting president inflicted far deeper and more painful wounds than Chun’s, it was not punished more severely.”

Democratic Party (DP) leader Jung Chung-rae, second from right, speaks during an emergency DP supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 19. [YONHAP]

“Even if the punishment did not fully meet the people’s expectations, we cannot let go of our commitment to judicial justice, the Constitution and the defense of democracy,” Jung said. “Through a second comprehensive special counsel investigation, we will uncover the truth behind the Noh Sang-won notebook and do our utmost to ensure that Yoon, the ringleader of the insurrection, receives the maximum statutory sentence.”

The Noh Sang-won notebook case refers to handwritten notes found in the pocketbook of Noh, a former chief of the Defense Intelligence Command who helped plan the martial law declaration. The notes mentioned a possible North Korean provocation near the Northern Limit Line.

Earlier in the day, the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Ji, sentenced Yoon to life imprisonment.

“It is difficult to deny that the former president harbored the intent to prevent and paralyze the National Assembly’s activities for a considerable period by sending troops to the Assembly, blocking it and arresting key political figures,” Ji said in the ruling. “It is also acknowledged that troops were dispatched, resulting in violence.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY CHO MUN-GYU [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]