Former South Korean President Yoon faces verdict on rebellion charges
ABC News
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived at a Seoul court to face a verdict on charges of rebellion for his short-lived attempt to impose martial law
SEOUL, South Korea -- Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived at a Seoul court on Thursday to face a verdict on charges of rebellion for his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.
It's the most serious charge the ousted leader faces after setting off the country's most serious political crisis in decades by declaring martial law and sending troops to surround the legislature on Dec. 3, 2024.
A special prosecutor has demanded the death penalty for Yoon, saying his actions posed a threat to the country’s democracy and deserved the most serious punishment available.
Most analysts have predicted a life sentence for Yoon, as his poorly-planned power grab did not result in casualties. South Korea has not executed a death row inmate since 1997, in what is widely seen as a de facto moratorium on capital punishment amid calls for its abolition.
Seoul Central District Court Judge Jee Kui-youn was expected to deliver the verdict and sentence on Thursday.
Another opposition Conservative lawmaker in Canada has defected to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s governing Liberals
British police forces are working together to assess potential crimes revealed in documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Gabon has suspended access to social media and digital platforms throughout the central African nation until further notice as critics accuse the country’s leader of crackdown on dissent
Greece is working with Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Denmark to set up deportation hubs outside the European Union for migrants denied asylum
Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova has appointed a caretaker government ahead of snap parliamentary elections in April
Paris prosecutors have opened two new investigations tied to Jeffrey Epstein, and they call on possible victims in France to come forward
Australia’s government has banned an Australian with alleged ties to the militant Islamic State group from returning from a detention camp in Syria
Japan has reported its exports surged nearly 17% in January from a year earlier, on strong shipments to China and other Asian markets
Indonesia is tightening state control over its globally important nickel industry after years of betting that the metal would anchor a homegrown electric-vehicle industry
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last week won a landslide election that gave her a strong public mandate
Peru’s Congress has voted to remove interim President José Jerí from office as he faces corruption allegations
Peru's Congress votes to remove interim President José Jerí as prosecutors look into corruption allegations against him
Peru’s Congress is moving to remove interim President José Jerí after prosecutors opened a preliminary corruption probe over unreported meetings with two Chinese businessmen