(ATTN: ADDS background, details of ex-justice minister’s trial throughout, photo)
SEOUL, April 27 (Yonhap) — An appeals court was set to hold the first preliminary hearing of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection trial Monday over his failed 2024 martial law bid after a lower court sentenced him to life imprisonment.
The Seoul High Court will convene the session at 2 p.m. following appeals from both Yoon and a special counsel team over the February ruling that convicted the ousted president on charges of leading an insurrection through his martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.
This file photo, taken Feb. 19, 2026, shows a person watching a news report of former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conviction on charges of leading an insurrection through his failed 2024 martial law bid aired in a live broadcast at Seoul Station in central Seoul. (Yonhap)
Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team had demanded the death penalty for Yoon at the lower court, accusing him of declaring the decree to incite a riot with the intent of subverting the constitutional order.
Yoon’s short-lived martial law attempt ultimately failed after the National Assembly voted down his decree. The former president was subsequently impeached and ousted from office.
Yoon, currently in custody, is not required to attend Monday’s session, which will discuss the trial’s future proceedings.
Other defendants in the trial include former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, who received a 30-year prison term on charges of playing a key role in the insurrection, and six former senior military and police officials convicted in the case.
The court plans to hold its next preliminary hearing May 7 before beginning official trial hearings.
Separately, the Seoul Central District Court was set to wrap up proceedings for former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae’s trial over his alleged role in Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law.
Cho’s team is expected to announce its sentencing request for Park, followed by final arguments from Park’s lawyers.
Park faces charges of playing a key role in the insurrection by allegedly reviewing the dispatch of prosecutors to a joint martial law investigation headquarters shortly after Yoon’s declaration.
Former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae arrives for his trial over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul in this file photo taken Feb. 9, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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