The first-trial verdict for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, charged as a ringleader of insurrection in connection with the Dec. 3 martial law, will be broadcast live. The Seoul Central District Court approved a request to televise the sentencing.
The Criminal Division 25 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jee Kui-youn) said on the 11th that it approved a request to broadcast live the first-trial sentencing at 3 p.m. on the 19th for former President Yoon on charges including ringleading an insurrection. On the same day, sentencing will also be handed down for seven senior military and police officials, including former Minister Kim Yong-hyun of the Ministry of National Defense and former Commissioner General Jo Ji-ho of the Korean National Police Agency, on charges of engaging in important duties related to insurrection.
The broadcast will air in real time through networks using video recorded with the court's own equipment. However, the court noted that transmission could be delayed due to technical reasons.
Former President Yoon was indicted on charges of conspiring with former Minister Kim and others to incite a riot with the aim of disrupting the constitutional order by declaring martial law despite no signs of war, hostilities, or a comparable national emergency. Prosecutors also alleged that troops and police were mobilized to blockade the National Assembly and obstruct a resolution to lift martial law, and that attempts were made to arrest and detain key figures including National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, then-Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung, and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, as well as staff of the National Election Commission.
At the closing arguments on Jan. 13, the special counsel for the insurrection case sought the death penalty for former President Yoon. The special counsel characterized the Dec. 3 martial law as a "grave case of constitutional order destruction by anti-state forces."