Special Counsel Cho Eun-seok's team on Tuesday sought a total of 10 years in prison for former President Yoon Suk-yeol at the appellate trial on charges including obstructing his arrest by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) and infringing on cabinet members' deliberation and voting rights.
The hearing was the first held since the Seoul High Court established a dedicated division for insurrection-related cases. The special counsel argued that the first-trial sentence was excessively lenient given the gravity of the crimes and emphasized the need for severe punishment.
At the sentencing hearing before the Seoul High Court's Insurrection Division Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik), the special counsel stated, "The original court's sentence is difficult to regard as an appropriate punishment in light of the defendant's criminal conduct, the nature of the offenses, and the gravity of the crimes."
The special counsel added, "Despite holding a position that, more than anyone, required him to uphold the Constitution as president, he categorically denied his crimes and maintained an uncooperative attitude throughout the investigation and trial process, showing absolutely no remorse."
The special counsel also criticized, "The nature of the offenses is extremely egregious in that he used his presidential status and authority to undermine the constitutional order and privatize public power." The counsel further stated, "Even after the first-trial verdict, far from apologizing to the public, he continues to make excuses and only claims he was wronged." The special counsel had also sought a 10-year prison term for Yoon in the first trial.
The first-trial court found Yoon guilty of charges including mobilizing Presidential Security Service personnel in January to obstruct the CIO's arrest attempt and sentenced him to five years in prison. The court also found him guilty of summoning only select cabinet members to create the appearance of a cabinet meeting when declaring emergency martial law, as well as drafting and destroying a false proclamation after martial law was lifted. However, the court acquitted him on some charges, including "ordering the dissemination to foreign media of a government position paper (PG) containing the false claim that 'there was not the slightest intention to destroy the constitutional order.'"
The special counsel also took issue with the original court's consideration of Yoon's first-time offender status as a favorable sentencing factor. "Crimes involving abuse of presidential status and authority are offenses for which recidivism in the ordinary sense is difficult to envision. Treating first-time offender status as a mitigating circumstance is inconsistent with the nature of the case," the counsel argued.
The special counsel additionally asked the court to find Yoon guilty on the charge of ordering the dissemination of a PG containing false information and the charge of infringing on the deliberation rights of two cabinet members, both of which were acquitted in the first trial.